Hublot and Jeff Koons have teamed up and made what just might be the funnest watch of the year. The Classic Fusion Balloon Dog is the maison’s first collaboration with the American artist, inspired by his famous mirrored balloon sculptures.
Hublot has taken its Classic Fusion case and reimagined it as if it were inflated. Every surface domes and swells: the crystal, the screw heads, even the dial.
I really love this watch, it’s playful in a way most luxury watches from big brands simply aren’t.
There are three versions, each limited to 200 pieces. You can have mirror-polished stainless steel, or anodised aluminium in red or blue.
Every little detail leans into the balloon theme. The crown is shaped like an inflation valve, and there’s a flexible rubber “balloon tail” at 10:30. The seconds hand even has a tiny Balloon Dog counterweight.
Koons himself says the Classic Fusion had to be “entirely re-engineered” to pull off the illusion of air pressure. Hublot CEO Julien Tornare backs that up, calling it “an extraordinary exercise in engineering, craftsmanship and detail.”
Every component was milled on 5-axis CNC machines, then hand-finished to get that puffed-up look just right.
Inside sits Hublot’s HUB1710 automatic calibre. It’s got a custom tungsten oscillating weight, shaped to match the rounded case, and a 50-hour power reserve.
Each watch comes in Balloon Dog-shaped packaging too, chromed and colour-matched to the case.
The 42mm case is a genuinely wearable size, and water resistance sits at a modest 50m (although I can’t imagine anyone buying one of these is planning to take it in the sea).
Whichever colourway you fancy, The Hublot Classic Fusion Balloon Dog is priced at US$25,100 / £19,700.
Yes, that’s a lot of money, but when you consider Jeff Koons sculptures sell for tens of millions at auction, this is a bargain in comparison.
They’ll land at select Hublot boutiques and in galleries, which feels fitting given this is as much an art piece as it is a watch.
Only 200 of each colour are being made, so if you want one, I’d move fast.
That’s not all Hublot and Jeff Koons have been working on though.
Alongside the Balloon Dog, Hublot’s also dropped the MP-14 Origin by Jeff Koons, and this one’s on a completely different level.
It’s a 44mm sapphire and titanium case, built around Hublot’s first-ever automatic central tourbillon. Concentric rings of white gold, diamonds and blue sapphires orbit a central core, meant to look like the universe expanding from nothing.
It’s genuinely mesmerising, and I’d argue it’s one of the wildest things Hublot has ever put on a wrist (and that’s saying something).
The case alone takes 534 hours of machining. Inside, 202 stones orbit the movement like tiny planets, while two floating rings display the hours and minutes.
Koons calls it “a horological interpretation of creation itself.”
Only 30 pieces are being made, and you’ll need deep pockets, as this the MP-14 Origin by Jeff Koons is priced at US$488,000 / £383,000.
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