This new chronograph celebrates 25 years of the Fuente Fuente OpusX cigar

Hublot just launched the new Classic Fusion Chronograph Arturo Fuente King Gold to celebrate the 25th anniversary of one of the very best Dominican cigars ever made. This 18-carat “King Gold” watch with the OpusX cigar logo is limited to just 50 pieces and will cost US$40,500.

This isn’t the only Fuente-Hublot collab watch, but there are some unique features to be found here. This is the first time a Fuente edition is at 42 mm, which is a great size for this type of chronograph, and the case and bezel are in King Gold for the first time. The bezel is engraved with tobacco leaves, and the caseback is similarly decorated.

As one who has paired cigars and watches—yes, this is a thing among a few of us horological smokers—I can say confidently that there is “a proper vibe” going on with this green fumé dial that reminds one of the Dominican’s lush forests where Fuente’s cigarmaking takes place. And to see the OpusX logo in the right-hand sub-dial creates a succinct echo of cigar’s band. That bezel engraving is spot-on for a smoker.

Hublot Classic Fusion Arturo Fuente in King Gold. Photo by Hublot

To understand the significance of this watch, one must understand the significance of Arturo Fuente cigars. So, allow me shift out of watch-writer mode and into cigar-smoker mode for a moment. Made in the Dominican Republic—from where I am currently typing away before heading to the El Cibao valley, where these cigars are made—Arturo Fuente has become a legendary name among American cigar smokers.

Specifically, the reason for this timepiece’s existence is a remarkable cigar known as the Fuente Fuente OpusX (FFOX). In short, this is one of the very best non-Cuban cigars ever produced—a legendary, award-winning stick Fuente has made for the past 25 years. The OpusX is a puro, meaning that the filer, binder, and wrapper all derive from the same country. I’ve smoked many FFOX over the years, and they are among my favourite full-bodied cigars. I’ve never had a bad one—always an even draw, a straight burn, and exceptional taste—and in cigars, consistency is the name of the game.

So, if there’s a cigar worthy of a solid-gold US$40,500 Hublot chronograph, it is certainly the OpusX.

The watch comes shipped in a lovely box with OpusX cigars, of course. Photo by Hublot

Americans still can’t waltz into the local humidor and buy a Cuban cigar. We in the so-called New World are usually stuck clinging to a few expensive Cubans we brought back from some vacation, stressing over a dodgy mail-order package that might not show up, or mooching our friends’ Cuban sticks to the eventual detriment of the friendship. The situation is not good.

If there has been a solution to this American smokers’ dilemma, it has usually been either non-Cuban Davidoff or Arturo Fuente cigars. However, I hear people mention Fuente far more often when lamenting the long-overdue Cuban embargo.

For example, I was at lunch in Dubai with reigning gentleman, watch historian, and cigar know-it-all Nick Foulkes a couple weeks ago, and—with 10 fingers worth of gold rings dancing before me—he said, “Oh, yes, Fuente. If you can’t get a Cuban, then a Fuente will certainly do. Great cigars, really.” This is not faint praise coming from Mr. Foulkes.

The striking green fumé dial is reminiscent of lush forests where tobacco is grown. Photo by Hublot

Earlier this year, as I prepared to smoke with tailor Max Girombelli—to whom another cigar pal of mine, Aaron Sigmund, dedicated his Assouline book The Impossible Collection of Cigars—he said, “If you can’t get us Cubans, get Fuentes and nothing else.”

And that is that, from the most respected names in cigars, we get a hearty endorsement of the Fuente Fuente OpusX as more than worthy of this special Hublot Classic Fusion in King Gold.

This story was first published on Robb Report USA