Metal Balloon Dogs

Hublot’s Classic Fusion Balloon Dog is exactly what it says on the tin. Inspired by Jeff Koons’ classic Balloon Dog sculpture, which gets endless forgeries at children’s birthdays, it made me do a double take at its cushiony soft aesthetic.

In the constant quest for eye-catching designs we’ve had years of skeletonisation, which I hope isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, but to get one of the big horological design houses bringing out something like this feels like a breath of fresh air. Limited to just 200 pieces per edition you can find it in three styles: mirror-polished stainless steel, or red or blue anodised aluminium.
Every element of the 42mm Classic Fusion Balloon Dog was reengineered through Jeff Koons’ visual language. The traditionally sleek architecture of the Classic Fusion was transformed with inflated geometries, soft domed surfaces and convex lines to create the illusion of a watch shaped by air pressure.

“Every component was reimagined, reshaped and refined; milled on 5-axis CNC for a distinctive puffed form, then meticulously finished by hand to perfection,” said Julien Tornare, Hublot CEO.
As a nod to both the dog and the balloon, signature details include a balloon-inspired crown in rubber-moulded aluminium, a flexible decorative “balloon tail” at 10:30, a Balloon Dog-shaped seconds hand counterweight and inflated Super-LumiNova indexes and hands.

Powered by a manufacture automatic calibre, it integrates a custom-designed tungsten oscillating weight with rounded, voluminous forms echoing the visual language of the case.
The ballooniness is completed by the box the watch comes in. It’s presented in Balloon Dog-inspired packaging which extends the concept of inflatable softness. The inflated dog is rendered in a chromed finish, colour-matched to each watch variation.