On February 2, Swiss watch manufacturer Hublot and artist Takashi Murakami celebrated their fourth collaboration at the Glass House in New York. Inspired by their first joint endeavor, the 2021 Classic Fusion Takashi Murakami All Black, and by vibrant Japanese video games and television of the 1970s, Hublot and Murakami announced the launch of 13 NFTs linked with 13 limited-edition Classic Fusion timepieces. In addition to their presentation at this year’s Watches & Wonders Geneva edition, 12 watches will be available on Hublot’s e-commerce site exclusively to owners of one of the 324 NFTs from the duo’s third partnership (launched in April 2022 and available through April 2023 on OpenSea), and will be accompanied by a corresponding new NFT.
“Our partnership with Takashi Murakami is allowing us to construct a history that interlinks all the works we have released with Takashi, both digital pieces and the watches themselves,” said Hublot CEO Ricardo Guadalupe. “Faithful to its history, Hublot is once again first, unique and different in how it rewards its collectors, providing them with privileged access to both ownership of and trade in unique artistic pieces. Hublot Loves Art!”
Courtesy of Takashi Murakami and Hublot.
Courtesy of Takashi Murakami and Hublot.
In a creative twist on fine art and watchmaking, the jewel of the collection is the coveted 13th timepiece: the Classic Fusion Takashi Murakami Black Ceramic Rainbow. The visionary’s iconic smiling flower, perched above the glass for hypnotic effect, takes center stage; twelve petals of gemstones—sapphires, tsavorites, amethysts, rubies, and topaz—dazzle against satin-finished black ceramic, evoking the artist’s infectious exuberant spirit. The additional 12 watches brightly echo each of the petals in the master creation—and in lively, prismatic NFT iterations. In a fully immersive experience, collectors have one year to trade twelve of the NFTs on OpenSea if they so choose. If one lucky collector acquires all 12 new NFTs, they will have the opportunity to obtain the legendary Black Ceramic Rainbow, otherwise, the special timepiece will be auctioned for charity.
“When my collaboration with Hublot was announced, we made it known that we would be adopting new forms of artistic expression,” said Murakami. “After creating all the timepieces together, as well as the digital works of art, we are now imagining new ways of accessing contemporary art.”
Courtesy of Takashi Murakami and Hublot.
Courtesy of Takashi Murakami and Hublot.
Courtesy of Takashi Murakami and Hublot.
Courtesy of Takashi Murakami and Hublot.
Hublot CEO Ricardo Guadalupe with Takashi Murakami; courtesy of the artist and Hublot.
