hublot launches transparent takashi murakami watch with petals made entirely of sapphire

Takashi Murakami’s new Hublot MP-15 in sapphire

Takashi Murakami’s new Hublot MP-15 watch unveils the artist’s iconic floral motif made entirely of sapphire. It’s not the first time they’ve collaborated, given the entrance of a vibrant and jeweled MP-15 and the ceramic-finished series. That’s only the beginning of a non-traditional watch for the duo. The dial comes next – where the usual timepiece design has the dial as the face of the watch, Hublot’s MP-15 Takashi Murakami Tourbillon Sapphire fuses the case, movement, and dial together.

images by Hublot and Takashi Murakami

Flying central troubillon like kinetic sculpture

The watch hands of Hublot’s MP-15 Takashi Murakami occupy a peripheral position to make way for the central flying tourbillon at the center. It is here where the kinetic sculpture unravels since the central part of the watch spins, moves, and seemingly hovers like a timed piece of art. In fact, this so-called central flying tourbillon features a power reserve of 150 hours, meaning the kinetic sculpture runs for such an amount of time, for almost a full week.

Hublot provides a dedicated stylus with the MP-15 Takashi Murakami Tourbillon Sapphire so that the wearer can use it on the crown of the timepiece and turn it about 100 times to fully wind up the two barrels responsible for the central flying tourbillon. The stylus is also rechargeable via USB. The tourbillon is indeed central to the timepiece, as its mechanism is visible and featured on the watch, and for this accessory, Takashi Murakami added eyes and a smile to bring in a dash of hyped-up charm.

Takashi Murakami’s new Hublot MP-15 watch unveils the artist’s iconic floral motif made entirely of sapphire

Hublot’s MP-15 Takashi Murakami, available only in 50 pieces, is surrounded by the artist’s signature flower made entirely of sapphire. Transparency comes to the forefront of the timepiece design since, to bring out the translucency of the MP-15 Tourbillon Sapphire, Hublot employs a sapphire case, sapphire case-back, sapphire crown, and translucent flange and strap to go along with the sapphire petals.

When the sun’s rays shine down on the watch, they illuminate the mechanism and watch parts of the MP-15 Takashi Murakami Tourbillon Sapphire. When it comes to reading the time, Hublot’s MP-15 Takashi Murakami Tourbillon Sapphire only has the tips of the two watch hands to indicate the hours and minutes. They are not positioned in the middle like in traditional watchmaking but in the periphery: the watch hands literally pass under the tourbillon cage.

Hublot’s MP-15 Takashi Murakami Tourbillon Sapphire fuses the case, movement, and dial together

Making all watch components skeletonized

The central space then is shared by the tourbillon and the hands, and Hublot carves a thought-of construction to make this work. The watchmaking team had to change some key parts, including the cannon pinion and hour wheel, to set up this setting so that everything fits and works together. Hublot also designed its tourbillon without an upper bridge, meaning all of its components are skeletonized, making some of the gears and all of the tourbillon components appear to float in space and highly visible.

It’s not all about technicalities and aesthetics since the wearer needs to be able to read the time easily and well. In this case, regular time markers are still present, indicated by twelve white markers on the outer edge. The hands emerge in black with white accents so that they are easily seen and read in both daylight and during nighttime. Setting up the right time is still through the crown positioned at the 3 o’clock part of the timepiece. Translucent rubber straps guarantee comfort as the watch is wrapped around the wrist. As of publishing the story, each Hublot’s MP-15 Takashi Murakami Tourbillon Sapphire is priced at 330,000 EUR.

rear of the new MP-15 watch