he MP-11 has been the power behind the most daring aesthetic interpretations: ceramic, SAXEM, Magic Gold, 3D carbon. But sapphire remains Hublot’s material of choice. The Manufacture is the undisputed master in its use, with probably the widest range of shades in the watch industry. The 2024 edition of the MP-11 is no exception to the long tradition of innovation at the heart of Hublot’s DNA. For the first time, it will be available in “Water Blue” sapphire.
This new shade is based on a new chemical formula, a custom development, and an exclusive transparency index, yet still boasts all the usual properties of sapphire: brilliant, luminous, perfectly inert, and 100% resistant to knocks and scratches. We must also highlight its exemplary polishing, a very delicate operation usually completed by hand. The result required compliance with a very strict set of specifications, and took several years to develop and test, in particular to simulate accelerated ageing and guarantee flawless water-resistance.
- For some, it seems like yesterday. For others, it has been an eternity. Just think: Baselworld 2018! Yet, Hublot regularly set the heart of the watchmaking world aflutter, beating to the rhythm of creations that defied all convention. The MP-11 was no exception. Six years on, it remains what it has always been: unique, first and different. And now with a new variation of ice blue sapphire.
Since its launch in 2018, the MP-11 has set the bar very high: seven barrels, and a 14-day power reserve. Quite a benchmark to reach! But beyond the numbers, there is the technology, which remains the pinnacle of inventiveness in watchmaking. To maintain a conventional height (10.9 mm), the seven barrels are coaxial and vertical. They are not integrated into the thickness of the movement. They are physically in front of it, set at an angle of 90°.
“R&D is at the heart of our DNA, and each MP, shaped by our profoundly innovative approach, is an opportunity for us to test new sapphires that may later become part of our regular collections. Our MPs are a laboratory, an exploration of what the watchmaking of tomorrow might look like today,” states Ricardo Guadalupe, Hublot CEO.