For 2024, Swiss Hublot released a new limited-edition version (only the second style so far) of one of its more niche high-end horology items. That being the Hublot (Masterpiece) MP-13, known more casually as the Tourbillon Bi-Axis Retrograde. The first version of the Hublot MP-13 Tourbillon Bi-Axis Retrograde came out in 2023 as a titanium model. Hublot now adds a slightly more expensive 50-piece limited edition version of the MP-13 known as the Tourbillon Bi-Axis Retrograde Black Carbon 44mm reference 913.YT.1170.RX. It has a case made mainly from carbon and Texalium (a textured carbon composite as I understand it) and is going to be even lighter than the titanium version.
The MP-13 is an attempt to take Hublot’s more fantastical in-house mechanical movements and put them in a more traditional (for Hublot) and wearable case. What we often have with Hublot’s more exotic mechanisms is a tradeoff between originality and practical wearability. I applaud Hublot’s more interesting shapes and styles, but they can be too extreme for people with more traditional or conservative watch tastes. While the MP-13 is not technically in the Hublot Big Bang family, the case shape and proportions roughly follow that of Hublot’s more famous watch product family. This particular case shape is not per se new, but rather an adaptation of Hublot’s somewhat similar MP-09 Tourbillon Bi-Axis watch from 2017. Both of the watches share a similar case design and manually-wound two-axis tourbillon movement, but the MP-13 updates the display making it a bit more attractive and visually interesting.
The case of the Hublot MP-13 Tourbillon Bi-Axis Retrograde Black Carbon watch is 44mm wide and as you can see – a bit on the thicker side. Hublot even needed to create a semi-spherical “bubble” section on the rear sapphire crystal caseback to make a bit of extra room for the bi-axial tourbillon assembly as part of the movement. The case is water-resistant to 30 meters and is pretty comfortable on the wrist. Most of the case is produced from carbon while the bezel and caseback sections use a Texalium material with an interesting surface texture. It is more modern and high-tech looking than carbon fiber, but thematically speaking, it is designed to offer the same type of attractive texture on what otherwise can be a boring surface to look at (carbon without texturing or patterns, that is). Other materials such as titanium and ceramic are used in parts of the case and strap deployant clasp.
Inside the Hublot MP-13 is an in-house made and developed mechanical movement known as the caliber HUB6200. This movement features the time using a retrograde minute and hour hand, as well as a prominently displayed bi-axial tourbillon. The movement also has a power reserve indicator hand to help indicate how much of the 96 total hours of power reserve are available. I believe that the tourbillon operates at a frequency of 3Hz. The movement of the MP-13 watch clearly builds on the movement architecture of the MP-09, and in addition to the new way it displays the time, the movement itself has a more attractive presentation and bridgework.
It is easy to miss the retrograde aspect of this watch if you don’t look closely enough. The concept starts with the idea that the hands should not pass over the tourbillon display. That would not only force the watch to be that much thicker but also wouldn’t be as visually elegant. This is not per se the first time a watchmaker has come up with retrograde hands to solve this problem – though it is certainly rare today. The idea is that the hour and minute hands do not circle the entire dial but rather have shorter scales to follow. The hands jump back to their starting “0” position when they reach the end of the scale, as opposed to moving in a continuous circle around the dial. This makes for a really interesting watch display and one that does not have a lot of latent legibility. This means that while you can clearly view the hands and markers, your brain needs to learn a new way of reading the time since this is not a traditional 12-hour layout.
Futurists who want a traditional Swiss mechanical watch with a lot of pizazz are the key target demographic for a watch like the Hublot MP-13 Tourbillon Bi-Axis Retrograde Black Carbon. It offers a fun viewing experience and an exotic mechanism that is also more reliable since Hublot has been refining such systems for many years now (i.e. they are not new to making these types of complicated movements). Of course, the watch is niche by design and its 50-piece limited edition nature (and high-end pricing) attests to that. Price for the reference 913.YT.1170.RX Hublot MP-13 Tourbillon Bi-Axis Retrograde Black Carbom 44mm watch is $176,000 USD. Learn more at the Hublot website.
