Jeff Koons has spent three decades turning the humble party balloon into some of the most expensive art on the planet. Now Hublot has taken his most famous animal and put it on the wrist, with the Classic Fusion Balloon Dog by Jeff Koons launching tonight in New York.
It comes in three editions, mirror-polished stainless steel, red anodised aluminium and blue anodised aluminium, with just 200 pieces made of each. All three carry the same price of CHF 20,800 (US$25,100), which is a lot for an aluminium watch and not much at all for a Koons.
For context, Koons’ orange Balloon Dog sold at Christie’s in 2013 for US$58.4 million, at the time a record for a living artist. He reclaimed that title in 2019 when his stainless steel Rabbit fetched US$91.1 million.
It isn’t only the big ones that command attention. In 2023 a collector at a Miami art fair accidentally knocked a porcelain Balloon Dog off its plinth, turning a roughly US$42,000 sculpture into a pile of blue shards and a viral news story.
This one should prove a bit more durable. Rather than slapping a signature on an existing dial, Hublot re-engineered the entire 42mm Classic Fusion so every part looks like it has been pumped full of air, from the domed sapphire crystal and titanium screw heads to the puffy dial and softened lugs.
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“Traditionally defined by its sleek and relatively flat profile, the Classic Fusion was entirely re-engineered to create the illusion of inflated volume and tension, as though each component had been shaped by air pressure,” Koons said.
Hublot CEO Julien Tornare said each component was milled on a five-axis CNC machine to achieve that puffed form, then finished by hand. “What appears effortless and playful is, in reality, an extraordinary exercise in engineering, craftsmanship and detail,” he said.
The fun is in the details. The crown is shaped like a balloon’s inflation valve and wrapped in rubber, a flexible rubber tail pokes out of the case at 10:30, and the seconds hand carries a tiny bas-relief Balloon Dog as its counterweight. Even the Super-LumiNova indexes and hands have been inflated.
Hublot chose anodised aluminium for the red and blue models because it holds the saturated colour Koons’ sculptures are known for. The steel version sits closest to the mirrored originals, and it’s the one we’d have, paired with a grey rubber strap and a metallic silver insert.
Inside sits Hublot’s manufacture HUB1710 automatic, beating at 4Hz with 50 hours of power reserve and a date window at three o’clock. Even the rotor gets the treatment, with a custom tungsten oscillating weight shaped in the same rounded, inflated style as the case.
The case is 11mm thick and water resistant to 50 metres, while each strap features a debossed metallic insert that looks padded with air. It all ships in a chromed, colour-matched Balloon Dog box, which might be the thing your mates notice before the watch.
Koons and Hublot have also unveiled the MP-14 Origin, a 30-piece high jewellery watch that marks the brand’s first automatic central tourbillon. The name nods to Koons’ first solo show in 1980 at the New Museum, then located on 14th Street in New York.
It caps off a big stretch for the brand, which celebrated two decades of the Big Bang at Watches & Wonders and has since had to deal with the World Cup losing its Hublot. Tying up with one of the most bankable living artists is a very Hublot way of getting people talking again.
| References | 542.SX.0820.NR.JKN26 (steel), 542.UR.8170.NR.JKN26 (red), 542.UB.5170.NR.JKN26 (blue) |
| Case | 42mm x 11mm, polished stainless steel or anodised aluminium |
| Crystal | Domed sapphire, anti-reflective |
| Movement | Hublot HUB1710 automatic |
| Frequency | 4Hz (28,800vph) |
| Power reserve | 50 hours |
| Functions | Hours, minutes, seconds, date |
| Water resistance | 50m |
| Strap | Rubber with debossed metallic insert, steel deployant buckle |
| Limited edition | 200 pieces per colourway |
| Price | CHF 20,800 / US$25,100 |
The Classic Fusion Balloon Dog by Jeff Koons is available through selected Hublot points of sale and will also be shown in selected galleries.
Australian pricing hasn’t been confirmed yet, so Hublot’s Sydney boutique is the place to start.
