Hublot unveiled the Classic Fusion Tributo in Milan, and it’s a homecoming. Offered in 18k yellow gold or 18k white gold, it rebuilds the watch Carlo Crocco introduced in 1980—the gold case on a black rubber strap that started the brand. The look is almost exactly what it was 46 years ago. Inside, it’s a different watch altogether.
The Hublot Classic Fusion Tributo revisits Carlo Crocco's 1980 gold-and-rubber original in 18k yellow or white gold. The 38mm watch keeps the twelve-screw bezel, index-free dial, and date at 3 o'clock, swaps quartz for the HUB1711 automatic, and costs $30,900.
That’s the whole idea, and Hublot says so plainly. “This is not merely a reinterpretation,” the brand says, “but a return to the origin crafted with all the expertise the Manufacture has acquired and integrated since its creation in 1980.” In practice, the original’s codes—gold and rubber, black and contrast—stay intact, and everything you can’t see at a glance has been rethought.
The first one was more radical than it looks today. In 1980, Crocco, working under the MDM Genève name, unveiled a watch called Hublot at the Basel Fair. According to Hublot’s archives, MDM stood for Marie Daniel Montre, the company’s name at the time, and the watch was known as “La Hublot.” It put a gold case on a natural rubber strap, which no one had done before, and framed a nearly bare dial with a porthole-style bezel held by twelve screws. Those screws stood in for hour markers. It was minimal and graphic, and it ran hard against the grain of Swiss watchmaking at the time.
That gold-and-rubber pairing eventually became what Hublot calls the Art of Fusion, and it runs through everything from the Big Bang to today’s Classic Fusion collection. The Tributo takes it back to the source.
Introducing the Classic Fusion Tributo
Put the Tributo next to the 1980 original and the family resemblance is immediate. The case grows from 36mm to 38mm and measures 9.5mm thick, a modest increase that keeps the proportions right. The twelve slightly domed bezel screws are still there, H-shaped and in titanium, and they still mark the hours on a dial with no indices at all. The date sits at 3 o’clock, exactly where it was on the original.
Some of the smartest decisions here are about what Hublot left alone. The black lined rubber strap meets exposed lugs, so you can see how the case is built. Hublot’s One Click strap-change system is left out on purpose—the brand says doing so preserves the watch’s DNA. I like that restraint. A screwed crown brings water resistance to 100 meters, and the strap closes with a deployant buckle that combines 18k gold, black-plated stainless steel, and black-plated titanium.
The real news is on the back. The 1980 Hublot ran on quartz. The Tributo uses the HUB1711, a Manufacture self-winding caliber of 185 components that beats at 4Hz and delivers approximately 50 hours of power reserve, thanks to an optimized gear train. Through the sapphire caseback, an open-worked oscillating weight takes the shape of the Hublot “H.” Hublot says the watch is conceived, developed, and assembled in Nyon, and it comes with the brand’s 5+5 warranty, which can extend coverage up to ten years.
Two Golds, Two Attitudes
Both versions share the same architecture and movement, but they don’t feel like the same watch. The yellow gold Classic Fusion Tributo is the one closest to the very first Hublot. Its polished and satin-finished 18k yellow gold case frames a black dial with a subtle charcoal effect, and the oscillating weight is 22k yellow gold, so the gold carries right through to the movement. At 6 o’clock, a gold MDM pad print ties it straight back to Crocco and the MDM Genève signature on the original.
The MDM does double duty, too. It refers to the Main Dans la Main Foundation, which Crocco founded in 1998 to support humanitarian and educational projects for vulnerable children and communities in need. To mark the launch, Hublot will donate CHF 100,000 to the foundation.
The white gold version is the more formal of the pair. Hublot points to Italian tailoring as the inspiration, and you can see it: the polished 18k white gold case is paired with a polished black onyx dial and black-plated titanium screws, while a black tungsten oscillating weight makes the back darker and more serious, too. If the yellow gold is the faithful one, the white gold is the one I’d wear with a suit.
Crocco, for his part, sounds moved. “When I created MDM Genève, it was a deeply personal endeavor—hands-on, heart-involved, driven by a singular idea: gold and rubber,” he says. “Entrusting it to others, even good and talented hands, was never easy for me. Yet, returning to Nyon, visiting the Manufacture, and discovering the latest creations, I see profound continuity and mastery. I see what those hands have collectively built. Witnessing Hublot’s evolution, I realize it was the best decision I ever made.”
Hublot CEO Julien Tornare puts it in terms of continuity. “To respect Hublot is to honor its origins, not by freezing it in time, but by keeping it in motion,” he explains. “Carlo Crocco’s vision remains—sharp, disruptive and vibrant. Now, this vision is realized with the full extent of our manufacturing expertise.”
In our view, that’s exactly why the Tributo works. Anniversary pieces often lean hard on the archive and stop there. This one leaves the 1980 design almost untouched and saves its changes for where they count—the movement, the finishing, and the materials. The yellow gold is the purist’s choice and our pick, because it’s the closest thing to holding the watch that started it all.
The Classic Fusion Tributo is priced at $30,900 in either 18k yellow gold or 18k white gold, and is available at selected Hublot points of sale and online at hublot.com. Forty-six years on, gold and rubber still looks like a very good idea.
| Specification | Detail |
|---|---|
| Model | Hublot Classic Fusion Tributo |
| References | 262.VX.1130.RX.MDM (18k yellow gold); 262.WX.6870.RX.MDM (18k white gold) |
| Case | 38mm, 9.5mm thick; polished and satin-finished 18k yellow gold or polished 18k white gold |
| Caseback | Satin-finished 18k gold with sapphire display |
| Bezel | Polished and satin-finished 18k gold; twelve H-shaped screws in polished titanium (yellow gold) or polished black-plated titanium (white gold) |
| Dial | Black with charcoal effect (yellow gold); black onyx (white gold); no indices, date at 3 o'clock |
| Movement | HUB1711 Manufacture self-winding caliber |
| Oscillating weight | Open-worked H shape in 22k yellow gold (yellow gold) or black tungsten (white gold) |
| Components | 185 |
| Frequency | 4Hz (28,800 vph) |
| Power reserve | Approx. 50 hours |
| Water resistance | 100 meters (10 ATM), screwed crown |
| Strap | Black lined rubber |
| Clasp | Deployant buckle in 18k gold and black-plated stainless steel with black-plated titanium |
| Warranty | 5+5 years (up to ten years via Hublotista registration) |
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