Did you know gold crystals are the rarest forms of gold on Earth? Formed into amazing shapes and unique patterns in extreme conditions, gold crystals scarcely occur in nature. But the amazing team from Hublot have managed to replicate those conditions in a laboratory, turning gold into this spectacular form to decorate the brand’s newest Classic Fusion timepiece.
The Hublot Classic Fusion Gold Crystal is garnished with gold crystals that were made from flakes of gold by the company’s Research and Development Department. To achieve that, they’ve heated up gold in the purest form possible, 24 carats, taking it to the melting point and creating emanations of gold, with small particles of gold rising through this stream of atoms of gold and settling down in a crystalline form when they touch the cold surface.
Like this, they form completely random and unique shapes of gold crystals that look absolutely incredible against the blacked-out dial of this watch. The Classic Fusion Gold Crystal also comes with a black ceramic case, that seems to complete this ultra rare form of gold as well. The case, measuring 38 mm or 45 mm in diameter, houses the HUB1112 caliber, an in-house automatic mechanical movement with a 42-hour power reserve.
The gold crystals are delicately laid out by one of Hublot’s master watch artisans, who places them by hand, cluster by cluster, on the black dial. Only 20% of these crystals are kept and they’re then covered by a fine transparent laquer that apparently took years to make as well. This is a very complex process that’s performed in a vacuum to avoid any air bubbles from ruining this work of art.
The process is repeated over and over, with twenty different layers of fine lacquer being applied to hold these stunning gold crystals on the dial. The dial plate is then polished to make the lacquer invisible and give the dial a perfectly flat look. In the end, the Hublot Classic Fusion Gold Crystal gets a black alligator strap to complement this extraordinary dial beautifully.
