Hublot and Jeff Koons presented a collaboration in New York on 16 September that brings together haute horlogerie and contemporary art. The 42 mm Classic Fusion Balloon Dog brings the American artist’s most recognisable sculpture to the wrist and comes in three versions: mirror-polished stainless steel, red anodised aluminium and blue anodised aluminium.

From balloon to watch

The work “Balloon Dog” (1994-2000) belongs to the “Celebration” series, begun in the 1990s. Koons takes a fragile, ephemeral object, the balloon dog, and turns it into something monumental and lasting. For Hublot, the logic is familiar. Since 1980, the brand has treated time as if it were a material, from the original concept of gold and rubber to the Big Bang in 2005 and the Classic Fusion in 2008.

The challenge was to reinterpret a collection known for its elegant, relatively flat profile. According to Koons, the Classic Fusion had to be reworked to create the illusion of volume and tension, as if each component had been shaped by air pressure. Julien Tornare, CEO of Hublot, described the project as an exercise in engineering and artisanal rigour behind a playful appearance. Every construction principle of the Classic Fusion was called into question, and each part was machined on a five-axis CNC machine and finished by hand.

Details that make the difference

• Domed case, with sapphire crystal, and curved titanium dial and screw heads.
• Padded metallised leather strap, with softened attachment points.
• Balloon-inspired crown, in rubber-coated aluminium.
• Decorative, flexible “balloon tail” at the 10:30 position.
• Seconds-hand counterweight in the shape of the Balloon Dog.
• Bulbous hour markers and hands with Super-LumiNova®.
• In-house automatic movement, with a custom-designed tungsten oscillating weight, with rounded shapes that echo the language of the case.

Aluminium was chosen for its ability to reproduce the vivid, saturated tones associated with Koons’s work. The watch comes in packaging inspired by the Balloon Dog, a chrome dog with a rubber-effect finish, in the colour of each version.

Designed, developed and assembled at the Nyon manufacture, the Classic Fusion Balloon Dog is limited to 200 pieces per edition. It can be purchased at selected Hublot points of sale and on hublot.com, and will also be presented in selected art galleries. It includes the brand’s 5+5 warranty programme, which extends coverage to ten years.

A collaboration in two parts

The partnership was unveiled on 9 September and includes a second release: the Jeff Koons MP-14 Origin, an exceptional piece in sapphire, titanium and white gold, with Hublot’s first automatic central tourbillon. It is limited to 30 examples and has a suggested price of €479,000.