Hublot & Daniel Arsham Push Boundaries with MP-17 Arsham Splash

Hublot is back at it this week with a new collaboration with their long time partner and ambassador, American artist Daniel Arsham. The two first made waves in 2024 with a pocket watch design called the Droplet, a rather unexpectedly beautiful sculptural take on the idea of a pocket watch. This week, we’re getting a follow up on that concept, and this time, you can wear it on your wrist. Water is still very much the theme here, featuring a frosted sapphire bezel that frames an organically shaped dial aperture. It’s exactly as wild as it sounds, and it’s a wonderful example of why collaborations aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. 

The MP-17 Arsham Splash, or just Splash, follows a similar formula seen in the Droplet, with organic shapes forming a structure around the mechanical elements. Here it all rests atop a 42mm microblasted titanium There are no log structures to speak off, but rather, the strap integrates directly into the case. This leaves the focal point entirely to the bezel structure that informs the design of the dial itself. 

The bezel piece is the star of the show here. It’s formed from frosted sapphire, and it creates an asymmetrical opening within which the dial components are structured. The bezel doesn’t overlay anything, the rehaut itself is shaped around this unusual aperture, as are the hour markers. The dial is openworked, with a direct view to the mainspring and the escapement. That mainspring boasts a 10 day reserve, and gets a nested indication highlighting exactly that. This is the brand’s Meca-10 hand winding caliber, the HUB1205. 

There is a strong visual identity at work here that pairs the frosted sapphire with vibrant turquoise accents set within the dial. Taking it all in as a whole, the water theme is certainly apparent, though there is also a plastic, novelty watch from the ‘80s vibe that’s also there, and not in a bad way. The quality of the execution here is quite high, but the structure wrapping itself around the dial brings a welcome bit of levity to the watch. 

The work falls directly in line with Arsham’s body of art, emphasizing texture and weight of structures, and here it is again centered around the theme of water. For some reason, it brings to mind the ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus, who spoke of change and embracing impermanence with quotes like “No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.” This watch embraces a similar theme of change in nature, and somehow manages to take the form of high-horology. Hublot