Associating Hublot with the traditional art of enamelling may come as a surprise. However, on closer inspection, this piece still embodies all the brand’s distinctive codes and values.
The Classic Fusion Enamel Britto is the fusion of arts and crafts. A link between a traditional art – “grand feu” enamelling – and contemporary art movements – Pop Art and Cubism – in the work of Romero Britto. It is the union of two arts. The blending of two complementary crafts.
Artists in their own right, enamellists are masters at working in miniature and working with the properties of materials and the temperatures required for their fusion. Guided by Britto’s fun, brightly coloured artwork, the master dial-maker reproduces the outline of the design to the right scale, before stamping the dial in white gold to prepare it for champlevé enamelling. The enamellist grinds the enamel in a mortar before applying thin layers of the powder to the piece. The colours are applied one at a time. To reproduce the original design as faithfully as possible, the enamellist works with the enamel in the same way as Britto works with acrylics. The enamellist selects 12 opaque colours – the most delicate and sensitive to firing – from the 250 shades in the colour palette. Each colour is fixed to the metal through successive firings at a temperature of approx. 800°C, until the final pattern appears after several days’ work. Britto’s iconic designs are reproduced perfectly by the champlevé enamel. In fact, the enamel is divided into cells, or “cloisons”, which are so delicately produced that they are almost invisible. In creating this dial, it was a real challenge to transcribe in miniature all the harmony and energy of Britto’s work. The Classic Fusion Enamel Britto symbolises the fusion of time. It transposes an age-old art into one of the most modern designs. Britto’s designs take on a three dimensional appearance in the two dimensional space of the dial.
The Classic Fusion Enamel Britto is available in platinum or ceramic with a black alligator strap stitched onto rubber; it will be produced as a 50-piece limited edition for the ceramic version and a 30-piece limited edition for the platinum version.
Romero Britto
The work of this Brazilian artist, painter and sculptor is influenced by the Pop Art and Cubism art movements. His iconic style makes reference to a joyful, brightly coloured universe of patterns which are infinite in their combination and variation. Now working in the Coconut Grove district in Miami, he has been collaborating with Hublot since the Brazilian World Cup, for which he created the iconic multicoloured football.
HUBLOT SA – Switzerland – www.hublot.com – T +41 (0)22 990 90 00 – F +41(0)22 990 90 29
International Press Contact: Anaïs Tréand – a.treand@hublot.ch
