By Jovan Krstevski
Hublot’s latest collaboration with Daniel Arsham takes an unexpected route with the MP 17 Meca 10 Arsham Splash Titanium Sapphire. Limited to 99 pieces, it dives headfirst into sculptural design rather than simple cosmetic tweaks. Most brand-artist pairings stop at dial colors or etched casebacks, but here the frosted sapphire forms a box-shaped bezel that bends light in strange, captivating ways. It’s bold, maybe even divisive, but that’s half the point.
The case measures 42mm x 15.35mm, titanium construction maintaining reasonable weight despite that prominent sapphire component. Hublot’s six H-screws secure both bezel and caseback, while lugs extend from three and nine o’clock positions in recognizable fashion. Water resistance reaches 5 ATM, sufficient for daily wear but hardly robust. Proportions feel deliberately compact, the reduced dimensions enabled by Hublot’s recently downsized Meca-10 calibre introduced earlier this year.
The dial throws convention out the window, dominated by Arsham’s splash shaped cutout that lays bare the movement’s inner scaffolding. His signature green carries through the hands, numerals and markers, reaching the seconds display at nine and power reserve at three. It walks a fine line, expressive yet reined in, more a declaration of authorship than an exercise in decoration.
Beneath it all runs the Meca-10, a hand-wound mechanism operating at 3Hz and storing ten days of reserve. Visible through both dial and caseback, the Meccano-inspired construction contrasts industrial geometry against the organic case shapes, mechanical precision meeting fluid exterior forms.
A black rubber strap carries Arsham’s monogram, secured via titanium H-shaped folding clasp. Pricing sits at CHF 60,000, €69,000 or $69,000 depending on market, available exclusively through Hublot boutiques and authorized retailers.
