At Baselworld 2016, Hublot debuted a new limited edition “long power reserve” timepiece family with the Hublot MP-07 42 Days Power Reserve watch. Thematically, the Hublot MP-07 is sort of like the new baby brother of the still slightly more expensive MP-05 La Ferrari which originally debuted in 2013. With that said, there is a diamond-covered version of the Hublot MP-07 42 Days Power Reserve that has a price very close to a million dollars. What the Hublot MP-07 42 Days Power Reserve shares the most with the MP-05 is the concept of the movement which has a series of stacked mainspring barrels and time indication via moving discs along with a vertically-mounted tourbillon which is visible on the side of the movement.

While the MP-05 La Ferrari watch has a total of 50 days of power reserve, the Hublot MP-07 42 Days Power Reserve has a power reserve of 42 days. This is because it has nine stacked mainspring barrels as opposed to the 11 barrels in the MP-05. You’ll also notice that while the movement components of the two super long power reserve watches are similar, their layout is very different. The MP-05 was all about creating the visual image of a car engine, while the Hublot MP-07 42 Days Power Reserve’s movement and case are much more angular, like a mechanical gadget from the 1980s. Rather than a vertical stack of mainspring barrels like in the MP-05, the Hublot MP-07 42 Days Power Reserve puts them horizontally. One of the main benefits of the MP-07’s movement and indicator layout is that reading the time and power reserve information is much easier. The most common response to the MP-05 watch we’ve seen is “how do you read the time?”

The movement inside of the Hublot MP-07 42 Days Power Reserve watch is the in-house-made and manually wound caliber HUB9007.H1.PN. Reading the hours and minutes is more simple as the turning drums with that information are next to each other on the bottom lefthand side of the dial. Across from the hour and minute indication zone is a drum letting you know the remaining power reserve. To the right side of the mainspring barrel stack is an indicator for the running seconds, which is tied to the 60-second flying tourbillon.

As mention above, the coupled mainspring barrels offer a long power reserve time of 42 days, which means that winding the watch (and setting it) will once again require the electric-powered winding drill. This means you need an extra tool to go with the watch, but since the power reserve is so long, we think this is a small sacrifice. It certainly adds even more quirks to the mechanical concept at play here. Otherwise, the movement is very cool to look at and is composed of 487 parts with an operating frequency of 3Hz (21,600bph).

If you feel that the case-shape and strap of the Hublot MP-07 42 Days Power Reserve watch are odd, then you aren’t alone. Initially offered in an all black-coated titanium case, Hublot really wanted to emphasize the movement and form of the Hublot MP-07 42 Days Power Reserve in this initial version. Then again, at launch Hublot did also release the Hublot MP-07 42 Days Power Reserve High Jewelry (haute joaillerie) model that takes this squared timepieces and utterly covers it in diamonds. The Hublot MP-07 42 Days Power Reserve is actually more ergonomic than the MP-05, but you need to like the unique boxy design of the case. This is the type of fun weird stuff I like to see existing near the top of the Hublot brand.

The Hublot MP-07 42 Days Power Reserve case is 51mm wide by 42.95mm tall. The case is also 24mm thick (which is a lot, for sure). Case water resistance is 30 meters, and there are a series if sapphire crystals on the case front, side, and rear.

Even though this reference 907.ND.0001.RX Hublot MP-07 42 Days Power Reserve watch is priced below the MP-05 La Ferrari, it still begins with a price that is over a quarter-million dollars – and there is no automotive collaboration this time around. Exotic and interesting, the Hublot MP-07 42 Days Power Reserve will no doubt make for an interesting conversation piece. I also look forward to hearing what the case shape and overall design remind people of. The watch is further attached to a black rubber strap that dramatically tapers down to fit more comfortably on the wrist. Price for the Hublot MP-07 42 Days Power Reserve is $276,000 USD, and with diamonds, it is $920,000 USD. hublot.com