On top of the world

We all love things that glitter and captivate our imagination for a while. But at Baselworld this year, luxury watch brand Hublot unveiled something that will stay etched in our memories forever. No one can deny that luxury today comes at a price, but Hublot gave that saying whole new meaning by showcasing their newest and rarest creation, the “$5 Million” watch. This beauty in bright bling is the world’s most expensive watch and was a sight to behold. It sets a new standard for watch makers for the years to come.

The making

Needless to say, diamonds were at the centre of Hublot’s creation. They were in fact at the centre, on the sides, in the corners, everywhere! But the creators did not make this piece like any other Haute Joaillerie watch. In fact, they worked in the opposite direction. While the design and technology of Haute Joaillerie pieces are created around the stones which have already been selected, Hublot went on to make this piece with the design first, then moving on to find the diamonds that would match the construction of the case, dial and bracelet. This was no mean feat, as the diamonds had to be resized and carefully cut to fit the watch parts.

The design was constructed on that of Hublot’s Big Bang watches. But it was tweaked to ensure that diamonds worth many carats could be accommodated on the watch. Of course, a lot of time went into the selection of the diamonds – a year to find the largest stones and the same for all the other stones. Each stone was individually selected and resized. They even got a “master cutter” from New York with over 40 years of experience to cut the largest stones so that they had the same cut “signature”. A total of 14 months were spent working on the watch, including seven months for the cutters and setters, each of them working on this one project full-time.

Technical details

The watch boasts a total of 1282 diamonds that are of great quality, grade A VVS in clarity and Top Wesselton in colour. It has more than 100 carats of baguette diamonds and 6 square emerald cut stones, each weighing more than 3 carats. The case itself is 18k white gold with 302 baguette diamonds totalling 27 carats. Sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating is present while the case-back is enclosed and made with 18k white gold too with a Hublot seal. The crown and dial are also made from 18k white gold, the former set with 12 baguette and one rose-cut diamond while 179 baguette diamonds embellish the latter. Even the bracelet is set with 782 baguette diamonds and 6 square emerald cut diamonds to form in total a resplendent display.

The movement is not to be ignored among all the shine! The watch houses a HUB 1100 self-winding mechanical movement with 63 components. It gives a power reserve of approximately 42 hours.

This piece of Hublot and Atelier Bunter mastery wowed lovers of horology at Baselworld 2012 and will continue to do so.

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