REVOLUTION_International_Vol 54

LVMH WATCH WEEK DUBAI
MADE OF STARDUST
Hublot’s Classic Fusion Gold Crystal
recreates one of the world’s rarest forms
of the precious metal.
WORDS DARREN HO
HUBLOT
CLASSIC FUSION GOLD CRYSTAL
MOVEMENT Self-winding HUB1112 movement; hours,
minutes and seconds; 4Hz; 42-hour power reserve
CASE 45mm in polished and satin-finished black ceramic;
ceramic bezel with titanium screws; polished black dial with
24K gold crystals; water resistant to 50m
STRAP Black alligator leather strap with rubber back; blackplated
stainless steel deployant clasp
Gold is one of the rarest metals in the world, its beauty
admired across the globe and cultures that span the entire
of documented human history. In fact, all the gold you see
today is truly stardust, the result of a cosmic collision of black holes or
neutron stars that smashed into each other. These powerful collisions
generated the energy needed to bind lighter elements into heavier
ones in a matter of seconds. Scientists speculate that such a collision
occurred billions of years in the past in our solar system’s vicinity. That
same collision likely resulted in the very birth of our solar system.
Most of the gold found in the crust and mantle of the Earth
are microscopic dust particles embedded in rock; far less is
actually in nuggets found in bedrock or mines. But of all the
variations of gold that one sees in the natural world, the rarest is
crystalline gold. The material is formed as gold-bearing water
runs through rock, forming veins upon which the gold flakes are
deposited. (The largest ever discovered single crystal of gold found
was 217 grams in weight, and worth over USD1.5 million.)
At the Hublot manufacture’s research and development
department, they discovered how to replicate such crystalline
forms of gold by heating pure gold to 1,947°F, which melts
the material and that rises until it encounters a cooler
environment, when it then crystallizes. If you recall old
chemistry classes on distillation, it’s not unlike that.
Since the crystals never form in exactly the same manner or form,
you never quite get the same shape or style. At Hublot, a dial maker
carefully collects these flakes and arranges them on a dial to re-create
the auriferous veins that one would see in nature, then coated with a
clear lacquer that seals the flakes in position. This is done over and over,
until the gold is perfectly displayed on the deep black dial of the watch.
The recreation of the natural beauty of gold crystals is part of the
allure of this watch, particularly housed in a high-tech ceramic case.
It’s a great case of technology imitating nature.
THE MODERNIST 57