Debuting twenty stories above to sweeping panoramic New York City views, Hublot, in collaboration with celebrated street artist/muralist and former New Yorker, Tristan Eaton, unveiled the special edition Classic Fusion Aerofusion Concrete Jungle watch Thursday night. Jean-François Sberro, Managing Director for Hublot of America, hosted watch aficionados and tastemakers alike in a three-part affair, kicking off in downtown Manhattan’s exuberant Lower East Side. The groundbreaking partnership begets the brand’s first ever concrete timepiece, cementing a love affair with the city that never sleeps.
The towering, glass-walled tri-level Penthouse at Hotel on Rivington, clad with visual projections of Eaton’s work commissioned for the project, set the backdrop for the reception, as guests were welcomed with Belvedere-infused “Concrete Jungle” and “Sweet Liberty” cocktails to properly toast to the reveal. Before making their way down to Café Medi for a three-course seated dinner and after-party at underground lounge, JIA, Sberro curated a Q&A with Eaton to discuss the collaboration.
“In an homage to one of the world’s most iconic cities, Hublot has continued to fulfill its mission to ‘Be First, Be Different, Be Unique’ by developing a watch with actual concrete elements incorporated into the bezel. We are honored to have worked with Tristan Eaton on this timepiece, and he has elevated the Concrete Jungle timepiece with his signature mosaic artistry on the case back,” remarks Sberro.
One part meticulous engineering, and one part avant-garde artisanry, Concrete Jungle symbolizes the alchemy of bringing tradition into the future by challenging the conventional. Limited to only fifty pieces exclusive to North America, the 45-mm timepiece is a portrait of NYC manifested in its microblasted black ceramic casing, framed by a revolutionary concrete bezel. The “Special Edition”-engraved case back goes on to feature Eaton’s signature mosaic interpretation of the Statue of Liberty.
Elaborating on his musings and creative process, “The best part of this project to me is that, for [Hublot], it is a love letter to New York as a whole; but for me, it is a love letter to my time in New York- and that’s special to me,” explains Eaton on co-designing Concrete Jungle alongside Hublot.
From NYC, to NYC with love.
The Special Edition Concrete Jungle Classic Fusion Aerofusion timepiece is available for purchase at Hublot New York boutiques. For more information, click here.
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