Alvin Wong 18 September 2017

Hublot doesn’t do subtle.

Known for its all-or-nothing approach to technical watchmaking, Hublot takes on technical complications as Michael Bay would any of his films. Even at their most staid, Hublot watches demand second looks; loaded with larger-than-life design pyrotechnics and mechanical muscle to appeal to collectors who like their timepieces to be very, very visible.

So when it comes to the jewel in Hublot’s crown, the experimental Manufacture Piece (MP) collection that features only exclusively made in-house movements, of which each series features a unique complication, one can be sure of the brand unleashing all manner of epic-ness to ensure that its significance is not lost on collectors.

This year’s MP-09 Tourbillon Bi-Axis may not rank among its most conceptually outrageous (the MP-02 ‘Key of Time’ that allows one to adjust the speed of the time display, or the MP-5 ‘La Ferrari’ with 11 series coupled barrels for 50-day power reserve are hard to beat), but it is certainly one of the collection’s most aesthetically imposing.

The MP-09 Tourbillon Bi-Axis’ profile resembles a skull in a steampunk, cybernetic kind of way, which somehow legibly provides the wearer with all the essential information despite all the design flourishes. The off-centred time display, the clearly marked date indicator, and the five-day power reserve indicator writ large like a banner advertisement all contribute to the watch’s technically inspired ostentation.

That said, the MP-09 Tourbillon Bi-Axis is far from thunder and fury with little else to show. The technical highlight is seen at the bottom of the watch, a bi-axis tourbillon that rotates on two axes inside two carriages – one making a complete rotation every minute, and the other making one complete rotation every 30 seconds. (For a quick introduction to how a tourbillon works, read this.)

With all the mechanical drama going on, it is easy to overlook the other technical innovation, which we think is rather practical and neat – the date corrector that works together with the bi-directional winding mechanism. Basically, when you wind the watch upwards or downwards via a lever, the date moves forward or back, respectively, by a day.

Given the shape and size of the MP-09 Tourbillon Bi-Axis (it measures 49mm across at its widest), the watch is never gonna be a snug fit. If you were looking for something simple and classic to go with your tux, we suggest you look somewhere else. But if a big budget, action movie equivalent of a timepiece is what you want, you have come to the right place. 

Alvin Wong

Ex Editor-In Chief

Alvin promises not to be a douche when talking about watches. He may have scoured the Basel and Geneva watch fairs for the past 15 years, and played an instrumental role to the growth of Singapore's pioneering horological and men's lifestyle publications, but the intrepid scribe seeks to learn something new with each story he writes.