For his second act with Hublot, Daniel Arsham transforms time into art once more, unveiling a new wearable in Singapore
For much of modern history, art and design have been treated as estranged cousins — both sharing a lineage but rarely agreeing on purpose. A painting, for example, invites contemplation and ambiguity. Its value lies not in its utility but in how deeply it unsettles, seduces and moves. Good design, by contrast, is an act of accommodation that disappears seamlessly into the background of daily life.
The chair should bear weight, the app must not confuse, the poster ought to communicate effectively. Put simply, the painter can fail beautifully, yet the architect cannot afford to fail safely. But what if the two could meet in productive tension? What if a building could feel poetic or a sculptural device could serve a function?
From left: Tornare, Arsham and Tay at the watch unveiling in Singapore
Contemporary visual artist Daniel Arsham demonstrated that artefact and innovation can indeed converge when he unveiled last year the MP-16 Droplet, touted as the world’s first sapphire-crystal pocket watch that can be worn three ways. Crafted in titanium, encased in dual domed sapphire and framed by rubber bumpers, this collaborative piece with Hublot can be hung around the neck as a pendant or detached to rest on a dedicated titanium and mineral glass desk stand.
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This creative crossover followed his maiden work with the Swiss watchmaker, Light & Time (2023), a structure carved from snow and ice that melted within a day, symbolising the ephemeral nature of time.
“It’s a bit of a ridiculous thing to do in this day and age. It looks like something from the past but feels like a kind of technology of the future,” the Cleveland-born trailblazer said to a roomful of journalists, joined by CEO Julien Tornare, at Raffles Hotel in Singapore last month. The remark, delivered during an announcement of yet another exciting release with Hublot, was a tongue-in-cheek nod to the Droplet’s deliberate anachronism: a technical marvel straddling memory and modernity.
Can an instrument of precision also capture the fragility of the moment it measures? That paradox still fuels the interest behind all of Arsham’s ventures. “In anything design-related, there are always parameters. I’ve worked in fashion and automotive, and the way I’ve come to define it for myself is that art has a function, although we don’t necessarily know what that is. Design, however, is different: You look at an object and immediately recognise its reason for existing. It doesn’t have an abstract objective. What I’m really interested in is translating certain material qualities and working with unusual substances like sand or volcanic ash — things we don’t historically associate with art — and bringing that same approach to watchmaking or anything I make at all,” he says.
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The 42mm case has been made possible through the integration of Hublot’s new, smaller Meca-10 movement
That philosophy — coupled with his ongoing investigation of nostalgia, decay and transformation — now takes shape in his latest creation with Hublot: the MP-17 Meca-10 Splash. Where the Droplet examined hours as a contained form held in suspension, this new wearable — “a natural progression from a desk clock to an intimate companion that lives on one’s wrist” — captures the instant when water erupts and splashes outward. To convey the dynamic energy of momentum meeting matter, the 42mm case measuring 15.35mm thick is forged from microblasted titanium and sapphire crystal, its rippling contours freezing fluid motion into solid sculpture. Inside beats the evolved Meca-10 HUB1205, a manual-winding movement that debuted in the 42mm Big Bang earlier this year and has been refined for a more compact build.
The re-engineered calibre retains the architecture’s hallmark 10-day autonomy, driven by twin mainspring barrels. The power reserve is displayed through a linear crémaillère rack system — a rarity in mechanical watchmaking — where a straight gear engages a circular one to indicate the remaining days of energy. Beneath that apparent simplicity lies a complex differential of two superimposed discs rotating in opposite directions, linked by a coiled spiral spring that mirrors the force of the mainsprings themselves.
At first glance, the asymmetrical Splash appears to drift from Hublot’s familiar design language, its sinuous silhouette breaking from the brand’s muscular geometry. Look closer, though, and the DNA is unmistakable: the six H-screws securing the bezel and caseback, the lugs anchoring each side and the titanium H-shaped clasp tying it all together. Comprising 264 components, the watch — transparent yet weighty, futuristic yet somehow archaeological — encapsulates Arsham’s preoccupation with objects that exist outside a prescribed era. Even the green accents — a hue he perceives most vividly due to partial colour blindness — seem to pulse faintly, mimicking the oxidised surfaces of bygone relics.
With the Droplet, the classic pocket watch has been entirely reimagined
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Nonetheless, there is nuance in this ticker that merits scrutiny. Its origins are rooted not in grand technological experimentation but the humble discipline of sketching.
“Drawing was the first thing I ever did as a kid and it naturally led me to pursue art as a career. It’s still the starting point for every project I take on — a way to study and understand an idea before it becomes real. That was true for the Droplet, when I was thinking about how something might fit naturally in the hand. With the wristwatch, there were many more iterations because of its practicality since it needed to sit comfortably on the wrist. Some versions were more radical and playful but ultimately less functional. There was also the intention of going back to Hublot’s original porthole design, which felt more classic and reductive in its language,” admits the American artist.
Inevitably, every visionary meets the wall — the stubborn edge where imagination tests the limits of patience and possibility. In an industry of legendary tempers, Arsham, the calm methodical thinker, treats that collision as part of the process, not a punishment. He understands that creativity depends on it, that progress is built on the cycle of undoing and remaking.
“One of the fascinating things about visiting the manufacture in Nyon, Switzerland, is witnessing how much failure happens in the production stage, and how many attempts it takes before achieving a finished product. For example, the engineers might be tinkering with the sapphire, and the shape doesn’t come out as intended, or it requires a much larger size than originally planned. For every case they produce, three or four had to be thrown away. The failure rate is incredibly high, and you need a [business] partner who’s willing to let you fail that often to keep experimenting. But imperfection, essentially, is part of beauty.
“Frankly, the matte quality you see on the face of the Splash was actually on the sample they sent me, but on the back side of the glossy part, which I wasn’t even supposed to see. I loved the texture and asked if the unpolished rear could actually be used. It had never been featured commercially before. Occurrences like that — finding things that have been sitting on somebody’s desk for 10 years and giving them new potential — are what excite me most right now. There’s still so much room to explore within Hublot. As Julien mentioned, because the maison is still very young, we have the freedom to invent history as we go.”
Material world
Two summers ago, the reveal of the Droplet was all scale and seduction, staged in Tate Modern’s cavernous South Tanks — a permanent gallery devoted to live art, performances and film. Guests moved through a mise-en-scène conceived by Tendril Studio: a hypnotic loop of drone footage from Icelandic landscapes, Houdini simulations and solarised vignettes depicting water crystallising into glass and sapphire.
This year’s launch, by comparison, felt almost ascetic.
Rather than being showcased against the cathedral-like grandeur of the national institution, it unfolded at 72-13 on Mohamed Sultan Road, a former rice warehouse now repurposed as a gallery, cinema and theatre. The space still bore traces of its utilitarian past such as raw beams and unvarnished walls. It was an inspired, if quietly subversive, choice. For both Arsham and Hublot, whose shared temperament finds beauty in unlikely pairings, the setting distilled the brand’s mantra, Art of Fusion.
Singapore, after all, is no stranger to the American artist.
In 2023, he created two bronze sculptures of the nation’s founding father, the late Lee Kuan Yew, to mark the centenary of his birth in a public exhibition called Now is Not the Time. Open to all, it alluded to the premier’s own ambition for the city state: generous, inclusive and unapologetically forward-looking. Visitors stepped into a living tapestry where history was not sealed behind glass but reanimated. For the older generation, the show offered a chance to rediscover the past through contemporary means such as artificial intelligence, generative art and immersive film.
For younger audiences, it redefined legacy as something interactive, shareable and almost cinematic. The installations, commissioned by Refinery and X3D Studio, are now displayed at the private members’ club Mandala Club on Bukit Pasoh Road.
The Lion City, in fact, played matchmaker in an unexpected way much earlier. “In 2019, I did a project with The Hour Glass and was speaking with [group managing director] Michael Tay about watchmaking, as well as the designers I admired and how much of my practice deals with time. He said, ‘I think there’s a brand that would let you do something truly out of the box.’ Michael’s the one who introduced me to Hublot.”
That exchange set off what would become a six-year — and counting — partnership defined by risk, experimentation and a joint appetite for the improbable. “I think part of his thought was that they’d be willing to do some of the crazy stuff that I’ve done with them,” reiterates Arsham.
On the wrist, the Splash wears a tad smaller than expected
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When the Splash arrived in this part of the world, it was more than another stop on Hublot’s global tour. Arsham could have introduced it anywhere else — his influence stretches from New York to Seoul — but choosing Singapore underscored how he and the brand view Asia: not as a satellite market but a cultural axis where the appreciation of art and time resonates deeply. Tornare explains that the geographical choice came down to both strategy and serendipity. “We have a shorthand with Michael, and the country is such a huge hub for collectors too.” With characteristic warmth, the affable Hublot chief adds on a lighter note, “And of course, I can have my dan dan noodles, Chinese food and Indian dishes all under one roof.”
For all the fireworks and fanfare, Arsham’s masterpieces also raise a question about permanence. In an era when collaborations often burn bright and fade fast, what does it take for a spark of ingenuity to become an icon? With only 99 pieces produced, a watch’s very scarcity makes longevity elusive. Would Tornare ever consider developing something that transcends collectability to become part of a core collection?
He does not hesitate. “We had a discussion with Daniel, and honestly, it’s not impossible. But from what we’ve seen, clients are usually just happy to know that we’re bringing something new — limited or not. Maybe they discover someone like Daniel through us or maybe they’re already fans. Since the Droplet, people have been anticipating the next big thing and wanting to get their hands on it, even though we haven’t teased anything.
“So what we do is, we don’t pre-sell before the release. I don’t want to arrive at a show and say, ‘Sorry, it’s already gone. Thanks for coming, guys.’ That’s an attitude many customers have grown tired of: long waiting lists and watches made for exhibition only. We’re also here to make people happy. If you systematically frustrate them, it’s not arrogance. It’s just bad business. Sure, we could have produced more than 99 pieces, but I think that number feels right, and I’m happy with it. When we launched the Big Bang Unico Novak Djokovic in collaboration with the tennis champion, it was a nightmare — all 100 sold out immediately. People are still asking for it today. I hate to disappoint them. I really don’t like that. It’s one of the reasons some veterans are leaving the industry. We need to be careful not to play that game.”
Pushing boundaries has occasionally meant walking the line between brilliance and bewilderment. Tornare throws his head back laughing as he looks back on a recent example: the Choupette campaign, a cheeky tribute to Karl Lagerfeld’s famously pampered cat. “People were very surprised. Some understood, some didn’t,” he says. “We were questioned, but the idea, again, is that everyone talked about it. The engagement rate, the click rate ... they were super high.” Then, almost as an afterthought, he adds with a grin, “Though sometimes we may go a little too far with the visuals.”
In Tornare’s world, the only true failure is playing it safe, a conviction that has guided him since taking the helm at Hublot in September 2024, following his move from Tag Heuer. “I’ve always known the brand was strong in marketing, but what I didn’t expect was the level of watchmaking expertise. Although I’m a bit of a purist, I think it hasn’t been given enough credit for its innovations. After 17 years at Vacheron Constantin — which, by the way, is celebrating its 270th anniversary — I’m now pursuing something completely different but fun.
“As I’m getting older, I’m also looking ahead. I think working at Hublot will keep me younger for the years to come. Believe me, you can count on me to take it to the next level. Hublot will be among the top watchmaking brands — you’ll see it already next year. I’ll make a big statement on movement strategy, direction and perhaps a few surprises. But for now, I can’t divulge more.”
In many ways, Tornare’s approach echoes Arsham’s own creative logic — fusing control and chaos, heritage and disruption. Both men thrive on the obsession of coaxing something inert into enduring magnum opuses that defy and challenge their own nature.
Arsham puts it best, flashing a cheeky smile. “Taking a certain kind of material and making it act or do things it’s not supposed to — that’s a little bit of my superpower.”
The 72-13 building now houses The Curators Academy and Theatreworks
