Hublot’s Classic Fusion Tributo Salutes Brand Founder Carlo Crocco

When I started writing about watches in 2001, there were some names in the industry that were invoked in reverent terms.

Carlo Crocco’s certainly arrived preceded by a reputation: almost everyone I met described him as one of the nicest men in the luxury watch business.

At the time, Hublot was still very much Crocco’s company.

Jean-Claude Biver would not become chief executive until 2004, and LVMH would not buy the brand from him until 2008.

Yet, people in the trade never mistook that niceness for diffidence.

In 1980, under the MDM Genève name, Crocco premiered one of the most disruptive watches in modern horology when he took a gold watch to the Basel fair paired with a black natural rubber strap.

Hublot maintains that no one had paired the two before.

It was a material contrast that ignored every convention of high-end watchmaking, from a man who was apparently unfailingly polite while doing it.

In 1980, Crocco premiered one of the most disruptive watches in modern horology.

For much of the past two decades, Hublot’s public story has been told through the Big Bang, the collection Biver launched in 2005, underscored by its ‘Art of Fusion’ tagline that channels Crocco’s original vision.

And with the Classic Fusion Tributo, Hublot turns the spotlight back to where it all began.

Same Spirit, New Heart

On the wrist, the Tributo stays close to the 1980 model. The 38mm case, upsized from 36mm, is a modest increase that keeps the original’s proportions intact and highly wearable.

Twelve slightly domed, H-shaped titanium screws still secure the bezel, the porthole motif that gave the brand its name. Elsewhere, the dial carries no indices, and the date sits at 3 o’clock as it did in 1980.

Of course, the watch is complemented by a black lined rubber strap. Interestingly, Hublot has left out its One Click quick-change system, an omission the brand says preserves the original’s character.

The Classic Fusion Tributo turns the spotlight back to where it all began.

The real change is inside. The 1980 watch ran on a quartz movement.

The Tributo uses the HUB1711, an automatic in-house movement with 50 hours of power reserve, visible through a sapphire caseback.

For collectors who value nostalgia but demand a meaningful upgrade, this turns a period piece into a modern watch with mechanical muscle.

The watch comes in a choice of yellow or white gold options, and both share the same architecture, the same movement, and the same price.

The yellow gold model, to our eyes, stays closest to the first Hublot.

Its black dial is paired with a yellow gold rotor, and a gold MDM print at 6 o’clock reproduces the MDM Genève signature found on the 1980 original.

The white gold version exudes a more modern touch. It is anchored by a polished black onyx dial and framed by black-plated titanium screws, which Hublot likens to Italian tailoring.

Crocco himself believes that the story has come full circle.

Looking at how Hublot has developed since he let it go, he says handing it over was “the best decision I ever made”.

“MDM Genève was a deeply personal endeavor–hands-on, heart-involved, driven by a singular idea: gold and rubber. 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,” says Crocco.

The brand marked the launch with a donation of CHF100,000 to the Main Dans la Main Foundation, which Crocco founded in 1998 to support humanitarian and educational projects for vulnerable children.