FRENCH RIVIERA STYLE

When a Swiss watchmaker meets a luxury hotel, the original encounter gives rise to an exclusive chronograph made in a very limited edition. A typical combination from Hublot, the unstoppable watch manufacturers from Nyon.

The Cap-Eden-Roc Hotel is a mythical site on the French Riviera. Perched on the peninsula of Antibes and encircled by the turquoise sea of the Mediterranean, the hotel has been owned by the Oetker Collection group since 1969. The impressive building dates from 1870 and became a hotel in 1889. Later extended, it has always enjoyed an excellent reputation. “A refuge for artists seeking inspiration“, the luxury hotel also counts a large number of celebrities among its guests. A prestige that extends to the luxury lifestyle brand Eden Being, with exclusive objects by designers and craftsmen at work in a range of fields. For watchmaking, the Oetker Collection naturally chose to work with Hublot, the endlessly inspired kings of fusion. From this original partnership has come the Classic Fusion Aerofusion Chronograph Eden Roc model in a limited edition of just 50 pieces and available now on pre-order from the Eden Being website.

The Hublot designers have brought together the aesthetic details from the Cap-Eden-Roc Hotel to provide an accurate interpretation in the new watch. So the Classic Fusion Aerofusion Chronograph Eden Roc features the Mediterranean’s blue colour, half way between azure and turquoise, and also seen in the famous sea-water swimming pool dug out of the rock in 1914. On the sapphire glass dial, the soft colour is shown on the hour markers, the outlines of the totaliser at 9 o’clock, on the hour and minute hands, and on the second hand of the chronograph rounded off by Hublot’s stylised H logo. It extends even to the calf-leather strap with white topstitching and black-rubber inserts. But the references don’t stop there since the metal ring around the second counter at 3 o’clock bears the inscription “Eden-Roc Cap d’Antibes“ and is inspired by the buoy on display near the hotel swimming pool.

The automatic HUB1155 calibre is housed in a 45mm-wide black ceramic case, and powers the time, calendar (the date is at 6 o’clock) and chronograph features, running at 28,800 vibrations an hour and providing 42 hours of power reserve.

Price: 20,000 CHF www.hublot.com

By Sharmila Bertin