Horology is the science of measuring time. It may be strange to imagine that something which most people wear on their wrist was once considered cutting edge, but measuring time accurately and conveniently was a significant scientific and economic innovation. In recent years, the science behind wrist watches appears to have settled down- but a recent collaboration between Hublot and artist Takashi Murakami may help to shake up this image.
Hublot is a brand famous for bold and futuristic designs. The brand rose to prominence in the eighties by featuring the first natural rubber strap for a luxury watch- a significant development in the watchmaking community. Now over 40 years later, Murakami is teaming up with Hublot to produce a collection of real-world watches linked with NFTs. Murakami has designed 13 unique NFTs that are inspired by Japanese video games and television shows from the 1970s and the Classic Fusion Takashi Murakami All Black watch which was launched in January 2021.
This is not the first time Murakami has teamed up with Hublot, in fact, this collaboration will be their fourth. Access to 12 of these 13 new NFTs, will be exclusively available to those who purchased one of the 324 released in their April 2022 drop. If through trading one person is able to accumulate all 12 NFTs they will be eligible to purchase the Classic Fusion Takashi Murakami Black Ceramic Rainbow Watch- meaning these NFTs will likely be coveted.
The day-to-day measurement of time may have changed little in recent years, but the way people engage with time has. Younger people increasingly rely on phones to tell the time and those that do still use wrist watches are increasingly turning to smart watches, showing a preference for devices that do more than merely tell the time. Luxury watch brands must try to appeal to this watchless generation -artistic design, exclusivity and NFTs may be the perfect way to do this. Team Stratisphere will be monitoring these NFTs closely.
