This collaboration sees the infusion of Yohji Yamamoto’s signature style into a new iteration of Hublot’s 2006 All Black aesthetic.
Affluent timepiece enthusiasts, pay attention – come May 2020, Swiss luxury watchmaker Hublot will be celebrating the grand opening of its new flagship boutiqe on Chuo-dori Street in Ginza, Tokyo. To commemorate this special milestone, Hublot has collaborated with renowned fashion designer Yohji Yamamoto to release a limited edition Big Bang GMT All Black Yohji Yamamoto.
“We are honoured to celebrate the opening of our new flagship boutique in Tokyo with fashion designer superstar Yohji Yamamoto,” said Ricardo Guadalupe, the CEO of Hublot in a statement. “This All Black limited edition we created together expresses a simple beauty through the fusion of Yohji Yamamoto’s black design signature and the complicated GMT manufacture movement.”
Known worldwide for his mastery in pairing avant-garde tailoring with Japanese design codes, and the creation of “The Shock of Black” which broke through preconceptions of traditional tailoring, it’s unsurprising that the Swiss watchmaker chose to collaborate with Yamamoto on this new iteration of the watch brand’s All Black collection.
It was back in 2006 when Hublot launched the All Black collection, its then brand-new and pioneering concept – “Invisible visibility”. The all-black design of the limited edition expresses a philosophy that symbolises the very essence of the brand. The model was completely dripping in powerful black – with a black case made of micro-blasted black ceramic, black hands, a black dial, and a black rubber strap. Even the sapphire crystal is made of smoked sapphire.
The Big Bang GMT All Black Yohji Yamamoto also sports a micro-blasted and polished black ceramic, with a 45mm diameter and 15.85mm thickness. The black sapphire dial is adorned with satin-finished black PVD plated appliques with black luminescent.
“This watch can easily display the time zones of the two cities where I’m based, Tokyo and Paris,” said Yohji Yamamoto about the watch’s GMT feature. “Moreover, the hours are invisible. As a person who isn’t always forthcoming, I find that highly amusing. I’m pleased to have taken part in the creation of this model to celebrate the opening of Hublot Boutique in Ginza – a unique, famous and iconic neighbourhood of Japan.”
The Hublot Unico manufacture movement HUB1251 makes the beating heart of this mysterious timepiece, and equipped with a patented proprietary module which enables the second time zone to be updated instantly by a push-button. This allows the local time to be read easily via the conventional main hand of the watch. The time at home is indicated using a second arrow-shaped hour hand, which integrates a day/night indicator and is set using the crown. The watch is completely shrouded in ink black, staying true to the All Black concept, tone on tone. At six o’ clock, the signature of Yohji Yamamoto can be discovered. The timepiece runs on a 72-hour power reserve, and is finished off with a black rubber strap with a black plated titanium deployant buckle clasp.
The Big Bang GMT All Black Yohji Yamamoto is only limited to 50 pieces, and will only be available exclusively at the new Hublot boutique in Ginza, Tokyo.
Discover more of Hublot’s creations and novelties in their website here.
Photos: Hublot