Takashi Murakami's New Hublot Watch Is Art for the Wrist, Clearly
Brace your wrists. Hublot and Takashi Murakami are back with yet another work of art to flex on the arm — that's if you can cop this limited edition piece.
Following their one-off MP-15 Tourbillon, the pair return with the MP-15 Takashi Murakami Tourbillon Sapphire watch, which will be slightly more available than the previous collab but still limited nonetheless (only 50 pieces will be up for grabs).
The latest ain't the Classic Fusion Takashi Murakami Ceramic, but it certainly does "fusion" thing very well. The MP-15 Takashi Murakami Tourbillon Sapphire merges the case, movement, and dial for a singular setup. Basically, there's no true face for the piece. But there is a literal face: Murakami's famous smiling flower, if that floats your boat.
Informing the watch's look, the Murakami's unmistakable motif brightens the see-through piece with its massive grin, twinkling eyes, and sapphire petals.
As you can see, the MP-15 Takashi Murakami Tourbillon Sapphire is far from shy, baring it all in a fully clear look complemented by glistening sapphire details (the case, crown, and petals).
The latest Hublot collab isn't as explosive with color like the Murakami's previous timepieces let alone his typical artworks. But boy, does his newest Hublot watch clean up well.
"Up until now, my work has focused on color. It was a really exciting challenge to start a whole new chapter focussing on absolute transparency. The forms and volumes are perceived completely differently," Murakami said in a press statement.
"With Hublot, we were able to preserve the individuality of my floral motif, but with a unique and different identity which was purer and perfectly in tune with Hublot's mechanical universe. I'm very proud of the result!" And rightfully so. The results are quite literally ice cold (this is a good thing).
On top of its no-secrets outfit, the collaborative timepiece features an impressive power reserve of 150 hours (that's almost a full week) and comes with a special rechargeable wounding stylus.
The MP-15 Takashi Murakami Tourbillon Sapphire watch rounds out at 42 mm in diameter, making it an easy wear on the wrist. Oh, and the piece comes with a white rubber strap, a calm finish to the ultra-clean design.
Hublot's linkups with today's artists continue to deliver some of the coolest collaborations. We got Daniel Arsham turning mountains into clocks (yes, clocks!). Then, Samuel Ross made his already-cool Big Bang Tourbillon watches even cooler and more artful.
Murakami had fans hooked from the jump with his Hublot partnership. It was fashion and art's favorite smiling flower spinning on a watch in crystalized glory. How can you not geek out?
With the MP-15 Takashi Murakami Tourbillon Sapphire, we see Murakami ditch color and strip down the watch to showcase the model's gears and features all the while remaining pretty stylish — something that'll leave the watch aficionados and stylish folk alike salivating.
