Hublot x Takashi Murakami Collab Creates a Rainbow of Desire

Hublot and Takashi Murakami have continued their creative dialogue with an exciting fourth collaboration.

This collaboration has thirteen new timepieces, each paired with an NFT, fuse watchmaking innovation and contemporary art. The watches feature the artist’s iconic smiling flower perfectly harmoniously with Hublot’s renowned expertise.

“When I visited the Hublot manufacturer in Switzerland for the first time, I realized to what extent the traditional know-how, precision, futuristic technology and craftsmanship were all intertwined in creating a watch. Bringing my art into the creativity of these watchmakers represents a unique adventure for me,” said Murakami.

Murakami x Vancouver Art Gallery

Last in Vancouver for his 2018 retrospective exhibition at the Vancouver Art Gallery titled ‘The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg,’ where Murakami displayed over fifty paintings and sculptures, the ‘superflat’ artist is a phenomenon that has no plans to stop creating. He is an international star in contemporary art circles and with the general public and masterfully achieves this result by combining leading-edge multimedia tools with traditional Japanese techniques.

Murakami’s visually very modern style subtly reflects Japanese tradition and pop culture and has inspired generations.

The New Chapter for the Two Brands

For this chapter in their collaborative story, Hublot and Murakami salute the owners and collectors of previous editions of their NFTs and watches. Access to the online sale of the Classic Fusion watches is reserved for owners of at least one of the NFTs created as part of the third collaboration, taking the art of high-quality watchmaking and digital art into a new realm.

“Our partnership with Takashi Murakami allows us to create a story that interlinks all the works we have released with Takashi, both digital pieces and the watches themselves. Faithful to its history, Hublot is once again first, unique and different in how it rewards its collectors, providing them with privileged access to both ownership of and trade in unique artistic pieces. Hublot Loves Art!” enthuses Hublot CEO Ricardo Guadalupe.

Soon to Be Legendary Collab

The twelve watches, referencing the 12 hours on the dial, are each paired with a different colour and linked to an NFT. The NFTs are inspired by Japanese video games and television from the 1970s and the Classic Fusion Takashi Murakami All Black, the first collaboration between the Swiss watchmaker and the artist, released in January 2021. Collectors have one year to acquire the 12 unique NFTs, after this period, in April 2024, only the collector who has successfully purchased the 12 NFTs will be eligible to purchase the 13th and most sought-after watch, the Classic Fusion Takashi Murakami Black Ceramic Rainbow.

A veritable masterpiece, the watch reinterprets Takashi Murakami’s emblematic smiling flower with 12 petals forming a perfect gradient of rubies, sapphires, amethysts, tsavorites, and topaz. Thanks to an ingenious ball-bearing system developed by Hublot engineers, the petals offer a dizzying rainbow spectacle as they spin and create a striking effect against the 45mm black ceramic case.

“When my collaboration with Hublot was announced, we made it known that we would be adopting new forms of artistic expression. After creating all the timepieces together, as well as the digital works of art, we are now imagining new ways of accessing contemporary art,” notes Takashi Murakami. Seeking something less substantial?

A wide range of Takashi Murakami curios and books are available at the VAG Store Shop.

To experience this story in glossy magazine format, click through to Folio.YVR Luxury Lifestyle Magazine.

Author Profile

Helen Siwak, Luxury Lifestyle Observer: Helen Siwak is the founder of EcoLuxLuv Marketing & Communications Inc and publisher of Folio.YVR Luxury Lifestyle Magazine, PORTFOLIOY.YVR Business & Entrepreneurs Magazine, and digital women's lifestyle magazine EcoLuxLifestyle.co. She is a prolific content creator, consultant, and marketing and media strategist within the ecoluxury lifestyle niche. Post-pandemic, she has worked with many small to mid-sized plant-based/vegan brands to build their digital foundations and strategize content creation and business development. Helen is the west coast correspondent to Canada’s top-read industry magazine Retail-Insider, holds a vast freelance portfolio, and consults with many of the world’s luxury heritage brands. Always seeking new opportunities and challenges, you can email her at helen@ecoluxluv.com.