Close Up: the First MP-05 LaFerrari to Land in the US at the Hublot Beverly Hills Boutique

This week Haute Time is in Los Angeles, where we’ll be visiting the city’s hottest haute horlogerie boutiques. Today we’re bringing you a highlight from our visit to the Hublot Boutique Beverly Hills: an exclusive look at the first MP-05 LaFerrari to hit the US.

Part of Hublot’s collaboration with Ferrari, this timepiece is a tribute to its namesake, the limited edition LaFerrari hybrid sports car. Only 50 pieces of the MP-05 LaFerrari were produced, and we spotted number 30 being unpacked directly from Switzerland during our visit.

Since this MP-05 LaFerrari won’t be in-store for long (it has already been snatched up by an anonymous collector), we’re bringing you an exclusive look.

For Hublot, the MP-05 LaFerrari is a masterpiece, in more ways than one. It boasts a record 50-day power reserve and holds the record for the most watchmaking components created by Hublot to date (637).

For fans of the Prancing Horse, this timepiece will immediately bring to mind the Ferrari aesthetic, with a complex shaped sapphire crystal designed to evoke the LaFerrari’s outline. Its tourbillon and its 11 barrels are arranged in an interconnected stack like a spinal column, which allows them to support each other without causing discharge.

It is topped by a titanium and carbon insert in its centre, revealing the winding crown. The time-setting crown is positioned under the case. These features are cleverly integrated into the design, and therefore practically invisible.

While it may look like nothing you’ve ever seen, it does boast the traditional functions of a watch. The hour and minutes are displayed to the right of the barrels, each one indicated by an anodized black aluminum cylinder with white SuperLuminova-clad numerals. On their left a cylinder indicates the power reserve. To each side reinforcing bars made from anodized red aluminum represent the color of the famous Prancing Horse. Seconds are indicated by an aluminum cylinder fastened onto the suspended tourbillon cage on the front vertical face.

The MP-05 LaFerrari is completed by a rubber strap with a special folding buckle in black PVD titanium. An accompanying case made from Schedoni leather and carbon fibre contains the special tools needed for winding the watch.

Photo credit: Haute Time.