Hublot Big Bang Unico Arturo Fuente Ceramic
Hublot’s latest collaboration with Arturo Fuente continued with a big bang in November, when Carlos Fuente Jr., president of Arturo Fuente Cigar Co., and Hublot CEO Ricardo Guadalupe unveiled their fifth timepiece partnership in the Dominican Republic.
The Big Bang Unico Arturo Fuente Ceramic watch ($28,300), designed with the Fuente family’s designer, Manny Iriarte, pays tribute to Fuente patriarch Carlos A. Fuente Sr. This legendary figure in the cigar world, dubbed Don Carlos, took over the family firm from its founder, his father Arturo Fuente, in 1956.
The watch’s design is infused with cherished Fuente motifs, such as the 44-mm black ceramic case engraved with tobacco leaves blowing in the mountain breeze. The dial features Fuente’s signature Roman numerals borrowed from the clock in the family crest, a reference to the family motto: “We will never rush the hands of time.” The crowned lion at 9 o’clock is a nod to the brand’s role in supplying cigars to the Spanish royal court.
The back of the watch is also engraved noting its status as a Big Bang Limited Edition of 100 numbered pieces. The Fuente logo appears at the center of the case back with the letters CF in tribute to Carlos Fuente Sr., with the text Edición de homenaje (Spanish for “edition in homage”). A dedication by Fuente Jr. reads: “Our Father, Our Friend, Our Hero.”
The special-edition watch, powered by the UNICO calibre HUB1242 manufacture movement with a flyback chronograph and a 72-hour power reserve, is delivered in a lacquered wooden presentation box that doubles as a cigar humidor.
“The Fuente family and I are very touched to have been able to pay tribute to Don Carlos with this extraordinary timepiece,” Fuente Jr. said at the unveiling. “Each of the patterns which it features reflect something of my grandfather’s epic story and his vision, and pay tribute to the values shared by the Fuente cigar company and the Hublot Manufacture.”
