Hands-on – Hublot Classic Fusion Berluti – Baselworld 2016 (Live pics & price)

We’re not going to ask you if you are aware of Hublot as a brand and of one of their specialties: partnerships (like for example with football teams or Italian car maker). We bet you’re aware of this. For the 2016 edition of Baselworld, this is not going to change. However, their latest collaboration made a huge impression on us, first because the brand they are teaming with is certainly amongst the finest shoemakers around the world and also because the concept has been pushed extremely far, making it quite striking. Here is the Hublot Classic Fusion Berluti.

With this partnership, Hublot continues its path in style – lifestyle and fashion oriented collaborations. Like they did with denim watches, with camo printings or even with lace, the latest idea was to insert leather. Well, in fact most watches do already have leather, at least those on a leather strap. So Hublot had to find something more. From the words of the CEO, Ricardo Guadalupe, the brand “wanted to go beyond the traditional approach to leather and work with THE most emblematic leather there is. Working with Berluti was a natural choice“.

Doing a strap with the leather manufacturer could have been a nice (but easy…) idea. Adding a box entirely made in leather and looking like a shoe box, full of accessories, would have also been a nice touch. But what about having a dial made in leather? That would be something quite interesting. That’s exactly what Hublot thought about when designing the Classic Fusion Berluti. Having a dial made of leather is something that must have been rather challenging for the brand, considering the need of resistance to UV, light or water (just in case some water comes in your Hublot Classic Fusion Berluti… something you don’t really wish). Using a living material in a sealed case is very complicated.

However, you know us here at Monochrome, we asked the question of resistance. And Hublot certified us that the dial underwent the same tests as all the other dials made for Hublot, and it passed them. This dial is here made in embossed leather by Berluti, the Parisian shoemaker that celebrated its 120th birthday in 2015. Indexes and logo, even if similar to the other watches of the brand, are here embossed directly in the leather – a superb, slightly grained leather with a warm patina and unique tobacco brown colour. This dial makes a perfect contrast with the Classic Fusion case, here in 45mm and 18k King Gold, for this Scritto edition of the Hublot Classic Fusion Berluti (another black ceramic edition, with black leather dial, also exists).

The Hublot Classic Fusion Berluti is also featured with a matching strap, using the classical “fusion” concept of the brand, meaning a rubber strap with a leather insert on top (guarantying a very high durability and great comfort). The strap shares its colour with the dial and features inscriptions, sort of written scarifications (which explains the name “Scritto”). And the watch is delivered into a superb presentation box, looking like a shoebox, made in the same leather as the strap, with the same sort of artistic writings. Hublot pushed the concept very far, as all the usual shoe care accessories that you’ll find in a Berluti shoes box are also in the Hublot Classic Fusion Berluti box.

The Hublot Classic Fusion Berluti is powered by the calibre HUB1100 (an out-sourced movement with 42 hours of power reserve). Even at 45mm and made in gold, it remains relatively slim and comfortable on the wrist. It is for sure a bold and large watch but it remains balanced and easily wearable.

This Scritto edition of the Hublot Classic Fusion Berluti will be limited to 250 pieces and will be priced at 27,900 Swiss Francs. This watch has been a refreshing surprise for us, both for the quality of the execution, the coherence of the concept and the fact that the idea was pushed so far. A very nice collaboration. www.hublot.com.