Hublot unveils a new interpretation of sapphire
The MP-11, featuring its sculptural 7-barrel movement with a 2-week power reserve, makes its debut in a brand new colour: a radiant and translucent water blue. A new colour is added to Hublot's palette of sapphire tones, and a major first for this Manufacture Piece which, until now, has been available in more contrasting materials.
For some, it was just yesterday. For others, it has been an eternity. Just think: Baselworld 2018! Yet, Hublot regularly set the heart of the watchmaking world aflutter, beating to the rhythm of creations that defied all convention. The MP-11 was no exception. Six years on, it remains what it has always been: unique, first and different.
It has to be said that the bar is very high: seven barrels, and a 14-day power reserve. Quite a benchmark to reach! But beyond the numbers, there is the technology, which remains the pinnacle of inventiveness in watchmaking. To maintain a conventional height (10.9 mm), the seven barrels are coaxial and vertical. They are not integrated into the thickness of the movement. They are physically in front of it, set at 90° to it.
Movements
MP-11
To obtain a two-week power reserve, Hublot has developed an original and spectacular design movement integrating seven barrels paired in series. To enable the transmission of energy between the horizontal axis of the barrels and the vertical wheel driving the hour/minute displays, the Manufacture has used a very rare system in watchmaking: a 90-degree return by means of the helical gear wheel, of the “endless screw” type.
Materials
Sapphire
In search of the perfect fusion between movement and case, Hublot engineers and chemists have researched and developed a transparent material which reveals the heart of the watch, all while being robust enough to effectively protect the mechanism. That’s how the Manufacture has become the expert of synthetic sapphire, a material from which it derives its aesthetic qualities that are unique within watchmaking – transforming each watch into a work of art.
