Foversta recounts an exclusive Hublot event in Paris, centered around the King Power Arturo Fuente watches. Held in a historic Robert Mallet Stevens villa, the gathering allowed collectors to experience these cigar-inspired timepieces in a fitting ambiance, offering a detailed look at their design and unique collaboration.
Yesterday, I had the chance to attend an event organized by Hublot France in partnership with the "Les Montres" Boutique and "Monsieur" Magazine. The concept behind the event was to gather a small group of collectors in a special place to smoke cigars and to discover in the right context the King Power Arturo Fuente.
The special place was the "Villa Monsieur", a villa designed by Robert Mallet Stevens in the 20s located in Suresnes, a city close to Paris. The Villa was renovated by Etienne Vanderpooten at the end of the 90s but all the spirit of the original architectural work was preserved.
Several Hublot watches were displayed in different rooms of the Villa including this King Power Arturo Fuente King Gold:
But I also could appreciate some details of the decoration:
Let's have a closer look to the King Power Arturo Fuente now.
Frankly speaking, I'm not a great fan of the King Power watches, I find them a bit too excessive for my taste and I much prefer other lines within the Hublot catalogue. Anyway, the two Arturo Fuente watches are maybe amongst the most convincing ones in terms of aesthetics.
These watches were created to pay tribute to the Opus X (not the Harry Winston watch!), the famous cigar from the Arturo Fuente factory which celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2012. The King Gold version is a LE of 100 pieces while the Ceramic version pictured below is a LE of 200 pieces.
The King Power Artuo Fuente features a 48mm case and is powered by the HUB4100 movement (a 7750 mouvement produced internally by Hublot or La Joux-Perret) so we get a classic dial lay-out.
The most interesting point about this LE is the use of colours which come from the cigars world. There is a nice harmony between the different colours: the microblasted ceramic combines pretty well with the matt brown dial and the King Gold indexes (the King Gold version is even more seducing due to the combo created by the indexes and the case). The several touches of red are not aggressive here and they give an additional spice to the whole design.
The Arturo Fuente logo is located inside the bottom subdial and nicely decorates the dial:
On the caseback, there is an Arturo Fuente illustration transfer celebrating the 100th anniversary. I was a bit disappointed by this transfer. I would have preferred an engraved back to enhance the perceived quality of the watch.
As usual with Hublot, the watch is very comfortable on the wrist despite the 48mm diameter. The key aspect to check is if the watch looks suitable on the wrist. You should have a wrist large enough... if not, the bulky size of the King Power case would appear to be oversized.
The strap contributes a lot to the positive feeling given by this LE. The brown Hornback alligator strap (with a black rubber on contact with the skin) is very well made, combines nicely with the dial and brings a sort of Carribean touch!
Opus X and King Power Arturo Fuente, the combo of the evening!
The Arturo Fuente watches are sold with this impressive cigar case developed specially by Hublot using Macassar ebony and carbon. But you will not find cigars inside when you will leave your AD! You will have to buy them separetely!
Surprise, surprise, one of the guests was wearing the brand new Classic Fusion Chrono Aero King Gold. Despite a large diameter, I found the watch very elegant on his wrist.
Of course, I couldn't miss the opportunity to do a wristshot. This watch is my fav novelty of the Geneva 2013 collection. Will it be also for the whole Hublot year? Let's wait for the Basel collection!
Another surprise was the presence of this Classic Fusion Skeleton.
You already know this watch which was unveiled in 2012. But if you look at it more closely, don't you notice something unusual?
Here is the Classic Fusion of the last year:
Actually, it is not easy to spot the differences. The Titanium version pictured here has a 42mm case while the original version has a 45mm one.
I find this change very clever for several reasons.
First of all, the watch doesn't lose its appealing design. Secondly, due to its very thin case, the diameter/thickness ratio is now more balanced. And last point, I do believe it is more elegant on the wrist with this smaller case.
The movement is produced by La Joux-Perret. It is not a skeletonized movement as it is produced as it is. But the industrial finishings of both sides are coherent with Hublot style.
I like a lot this Classic Fusion. Smaller, elegant and quite original, Hublot has a hit with this one! Even if the theme of the evening was the world of cigars and the Arturo Fuente watches, I still had the 42mm Classic Fusion in my mind when I left the villa... Sometimes, you are seduced by a totally unexpected encounter...
I would like to thank a lot the Hublot France team for the perfect organisation of the event.
Fx
