takashi murakami & hublot enclose jeweled smiling flower in 13 black ceramic watches

Takashi Murakami and hublot fuse flowers and gems

Takashi Murakami and Hublot unveil their recent collaboration through 13 exclusive black ceramic timepieces engraved with the Japanese artist’s signature smiling flower. What is new to their collection comes through the 13 NFTs that represent each watch that owners can avail and keep.

The thirteen NFTs draw their influence from the 1970s Japanese video games and television as well as the Classic Fusion Takashi Murakami All Black, the result of the first Swiss watchmaker’s collaboration with Takashi Murakami collaboration circling back to January 2021.

images courtesy of Hublot

Takashi Murakami and Hublot reinterpret the artist’s signature smiling flower with 12 petals forming a perfect gradient of rubies, sapphires, amethysts, tsavorites, and topaz. The flower glimmer in a spectrum of colors as they spin on an axis with each movement it makes.

The 45mm black ceramic casing contrasts strikingly with the motion of the gem-covered petals. To produce a 3D illusion, the sapphire glass is put on top of the center of the smiling flower. As the watch’s hands move, the hues of the gems transition from a richer to a more vibrant tone, infinitely glimmering along with the sunshine-filled beam of the flower.

visible clockwork

A secret mission for the 13th watch

There is a catch in the new collaboration between Takashi Murakami and Hublot. Twelve of the black ceramic watches will be available for purchase exclusively on Hublot’s site, which can only be accessed by owners of at least one of the 324 All Black or Sapphire Rainbow NFTs that the Swiss watchmaker issued in April 2022 as part of the third collaboration between Hublot and Takashi Murakami. Then, the 13th watch can only be afforded under a certain condition.

As the second step, collectors will only have a period of one year to trade the 12 NFTs of the black ceramic watch on the OpenSea platform. ‘In April 2024, at the end of this period, only the collector who has managed to collect all 12 of the new unique NFTs will be eligible to purchase the thirteenth and most sought-after watch: the Classic Fusion Takashi Murakami Black Ceramic Rainbow,’ says Hublot. In case no one has managed to gather the 12 NFTs, the 13th watch will be auctioned by Hublot and the funds accumulated will be donated to a chosen charity.

close-up view