Even people who don’t recognize Daniel Arsham’s name have likely encountered his work, as the New York-based artist has found widespread success that spans numerous brand collaborations, gallery exhibitions, and installation pieces all around the globe. Arsham’s designs exist in various forms, although he is arguably best known for his sculptures that depict iconic objects and pop-culture figures with sections cut away to reveal internal crystal formations (somewhat reminiscent of geodes). With that in mind, for his limited-edition collaboration with Hublot, Daniel Arsham has drawn from the other side of his signature design language that is inspired by fluid, organic shapes, and the new Hublot Arsham Droplet is a futuristic mechanical pocket watch that can also be worn as a pendant or mounted inside of a magnifying stand to function as a desk clock.
Crafted from titanium and sapphire with a teardrop-shaped profile, the case of the Hublot Arsham Droplet (ref. 916.NX.5202.NK) measures 73.2mm long by 52.6mm wide, with an overall thickness of 22.5mm. It has a distinctly fluid and futuristic appearance that would feel right at home as the halo piece within some Oakley catalog from the early 2000s. The large end of the teardrop structure is the side of the watch that contains its movement and display for the time, while the middle part is an open-worked frame occupied by different sizes of circles, which is somewhat reminiscent of bubbles or growing cells. Meanwhile, the narrow end of the Arsham Droplet’s case is fitted with Hublot’s One-Click strap-changing system to allow owners to quickly change up its configuration and make the transition from pocket watch to pendant or table clock.
In terms of its construction, the case of the Hublot Arsham Droplet is crafted from sandblasted grade 5 titanium with high-polished accents, and it features rubberized bumpers/grips running down the sides that appear in Arsham Green (the artist’s signature color) with his monogram logo stamped onto the surface. A pair of asymmetrically shaped convex sapphire crystals are fitted to either side of the Arsham Droplet’s titanium case, covering both the dial/movement end and the open-worked grip that extends from the timekeeping display. Additionally, the sapphire crystals are secured by the Swiss manufacturer’s signature H-shaped screws, along with a double sealing system comprised of 17 gaskets to help provide the Arsham Droplet with 30 meters of water resistance.
Powering the Hublot Arsham Droplet is the brand’s manufacture caliber HUB1201 MECA-10 manual-wind movement, which first debuted inside the original Big Bang MECA-10 back in 2016 and has been featured in quite a few different iterations of the model in the years since its launch, including a super-sized version in the form of the MECA-10 Clock. Running at a frequency of 21,600vph (3 Hz) with a 10-day power reserve (240 hours), the Hublot Cal. HUB1201 features a rather unusual layout that has two different power reserve indicators. The first indicator is shown in a digital format using a skeletonized gear at the 6 o’clock position, while the second indicator offers a more approximate expression, and it appears as a colored segment within the skeletonized barrel cover located on the right-hand side of the display.
The dial layout of the Hublot Arsham Droplet is largely influenced by its movement, and it features a skeletonized display with its hands, chapter ring, hour markers, and running seconds register all appearing in the artist’s signature Arsham Green color. Arsham’s logo takes the place of the 12 o’clock index. The running seconds sub-dial is placed at 9 o’clock, while the skeletonized barrel cover in the shape of Hublot’s “H” logo sits opposite it at the 3 o’clock location, and it contains the first of the two power reserve indicators, which depicts the approximate value in Arsham Green to match the rest of the watch. At the bottom of the dial is the second power reserve indicator that uses a skeletonized gear with an arc-shaped window to frame the current value, and this offers a more precise measurement by providing a numerical value for the remaining days of autonomy.
The caseback of the Hublot Arsham Droplet features a framework of the artist’s logo that sits above an otherwise open-worked view of the internal movement, with relevant details about the watch printed along the perimeter of the circular aperture, such as the “Arsham Droplet” name and each watch’s limited-edition number out of 99 total examples. Among these markings are the words “Hublot MP-16” as an indication that this piece is from the brand’s MP series, which is arguably its most unconventional collection of models, with other recent additions to the lineup including the MP-15 Takashi Murakami Tourbillon Sapphire watch, and the MP-10 Tourbillon Weight Energy System Titanium that was launched earlier this year at LVMH Watch Week 2024.
In order to enable it to be used as a pocket watch, pendant, or desk clock, the Hublot Arsham Droplet comes with two different chain attachments, along with a stand that turns the piece into a table clock. Both chains are constructed from grade 5 titanium, and they feature a sequin-link construction with polished surfaces and a micro-blasted finish on their clasps and carabiner clips. Meanwhile, the desk clock stand is crafted from grade 5 titanium and mineral glass, and it consists of a transparent Arsham Green sphere combined with a large clear magnifying glass that enlarges the watch’s display for increased visibility as a table clock. Additionally, all three attachments use Hublot’s One-Click system, which means they can easily be disconnected and swapped out by pressing the two buttons located on the narrow end of the Arsham Droplet’s case.
Hublot has a tradition of collaborating with famous artists such as Takashi Murakami, Maxime Buchi (Sang Bleu), Richard Orlinski, and Samuel Ross, and each of these partnerships has yielded unique timepieces that offer a distinct twist on Hublot’s inherently modern design language. This latest piece with Daniel Arsham continues this tradition, and the results of the partnership are truly different from what we typically associate with either of the collaborating parties. Produced as a limited edition of 99 examples, the Hublot Arsham Droplet ref. 916.NX.5202.NK is priced at $88,000 USD, which makes it nearly twice the cost of the solid-gold Big Bang models that also use the MECA-10 movement. With that in mind, even Arsham’s small resin sculptures routinely sell for thousands of dollars, and it’s undeniable that the Arsham Droplet represents a truly unique offering within Hublot’s modern collection. For more information on the Hublot Arsham Droplet, please visit the brand’s website.