Hublot, Ultra Singapore, and the Art of Fusion

For Hublot, the phrase “The Art of Fusion” is a catch-all that encompasses the various types of alchemy it dabbles in. There’s Magic Gold used in its watch cases, for example – a practically scratchproof “alloy” of boron carbide and gold that retains the industry standard of 18K fineness, yet has a hardness of 1,000 Vickers well beyond the typical 18K gold alloy’s 400 Vickers, and even stainless steel’s 700 Vickers. In the same vein of things, the brand combined its bestselling model, the Big Bang, with a palette of garish hues to evoke Warhol in the Big Bang Pop Art, putting a completely new twist on a watch that we thought we were already intimately familiar with.

The art of fusion extends to Hublot’s partnerships, where the brand has displayed an uncanny knack for identifying personalities and organisations – and disparate ones at that – to synergise with. In music, for instance, Hublot has collaborated with electronic band Depeche Mode since 2010 and released several limited edition watches, with part of the proceeds going towards Charity: Water, a non-profit organisation that works to provide drinking water to people in developing countries. Hublot also counts Chinese concert pianist Lang Lang as one of its ambassadors, and has created two limited edition timepieces with him: a Classic Fusion 45mm Ultra-Thin, and a Classic Fusion Tourbillon Cathedral Minute Repeater.

Hublot’s latest foray into music involves Ultra Singapore, an offshoot of the Ultra Music Festival that was founded in Miami in 1999 and, incidentally, named after Depeche Mode’s album Ultra. The festival is heavily focused on electronic music, and has expanded worldwide to include some 20 cities, with Ultra Singapore 2017 due to take place on 10 and 11 June. The brand is joining Ultra Singapore as its first official timekeeper and will be hosting, among other guests, Swiss tattoo artist Maxime Buchi, who was the designer for the Big Bang Sang Bleu watch.