A surprising new member of the Hublot watch family this year will be the new Classic Fusion Extra-Thin Skeleton. It is relatively thin (especially for a Hublot), it is relatively simple (just the time), and it has a very nice looking modern skeletonized movement and dial. Overall a winner if the look suits you.
Recently the Classic Fusion collection came out (covered here) and was an interesting mix of Big Bang and more traditional watch looks. I had some nice things to say about it, but this Extra-Thin Skeleton model is much more impressive. I actually like that the hands are not skeletonized. Speaking of which, there is this huge trend in people making skeletonized hands and I really don’t get it. Do people really go so ga-ga over skeletonized hands?
Skeletonzied movements on the other hands are much more interesting. Here, Hublot seems to take a base Unitas style manually-wound movement and built it using a new framework with technical looking bridges and a hip modern feel. This sure isn’t your grandfather’s skeletonized watch. The movement is called the Hublot caliber HUB1300 and is just 2.90mm thick with a 90 hour power reserve. It only has the time with subsidiary seconds dial. Overall it looks fantastic and very nice with the Classic Fusion case and style.
The dial has nicely sized hands that aren’t too short. Short hands on this watch would kill it for me – but Hublot doesn’t fail at all in this department. While the movement is the dial, Hublot is still able to apply sizable hour markers to ensure legibility is high. This is done with a sapphire plate over the movement I believe. An interesting design touch is that the Hublot uses a thin black outline for its logo to ensure it sticks out. I quite like that.
Offered in both titanium and 18k King Gold (basically red gold), the Classic Fusion Extra-Thin Skeleton comes in a 45mm wide case attached to a black alligator (with a rubber lining) strap. The case is water resistant to 50 meters and looks real nice on the wrist. Hublot really did an excellent job with these and both versions look nice. They will actually be offered as limited editions. There will be 1000 pieces of the Hublot Classic Fusion Extra-Thin Skeleton in titanium and 500 pieces of the watch in King Gold. Look for them later in 2012.
TECHNICAL DETAILS from Hublot:
References 515.NX.0170.LR – Titanium, 1000-piece limited series
515.OX.0180.LR – 18K King Gold, 500-piece limited series
Case “Classic Fusion” – Diameter 45 mm
Titanium or 18K King Gold, polished and satin-finished
Bezel Titanium or 18K King Gold, with vertical satin finish
6 H-shaped countersunk, polished & locked titanium screws
Crystal Sapphire with interior/exterior anti-reflective coating
Bezel Lug Black composite resin
Crown Polished titanium or 18K King Gold, with Hublot logo
Case-back Satin-finished titanium or satin-finished 18K King Gold with sapphire crystal, interior anti-reflective coating
Water resistance 5 ATM, i.e. approx 50 metres
Dial Sapphire with silvered or red gold Hublot logo transfer
Anti-reflective coating on topside/underside
Polished & rhodium-plated or red gold-plated indexes
Hands Polished & rhodium-plated or red gold-plated
Movement HUB1300 hand-wound skeleton
Small seconds at 7 o’clock
Thickness 2.90 mm
Components 123
Jewels 23
Frequency 3 Hz (21,600 Vib/h)
Power reserve Approximately 90 hours
Wristlet Black alligator strap stitched onto black rubber
Clasp Deployant buckle in black PVD steel or 18K red gold
