Since 2012, Hublot and Arturo Fuente Cigars have cooperated on limited editions to honor the passion of great workmanship while also supporting the Fuente Family Foundation’s charity projects in the Dominican Republic.
This latest collaboration pays homage to iconic creator Carlos A. Fuente Srextraordinary’s narrative. His life has been an emotional rollercoaster of hard effort, profound sadness, and, finally, tenacity to become a cigar business icon.
Calos Sr. was born in Ybor City, a Cuban community in Tampa, Florida, in 1935. He started working at his father Arturo’s tiny cigar company while he was in his pre-teens. Even as small youngsters, one of their family responsibilities was to create 50 cigars every day before they could begin their homework. Carlos Sr. worked with his father Arturo until his father’s retirement in 1956, when he took over the family firm.
Carlos Sr. embarked on a bold strategy to extend the company throughout Florida and ultimately to New York City. The Fuente cigar firm thrived in the 1960s until the US blockade on Cuba compelled the family to relocate their manufacturing to Nicaragua. Sandinista insurgents set fire to the Fuente plant in 1978. The Fuentes were forced to flee to Honduras, where they continued to operate.
It all started with a bang. With the help of the Fuente family’s designer, Manny Iriarte, Unico Arturo Fuente Ceramic includes numerous features of the Fuente family. The 44-mm ceramic case features an etched design of a tobacco leaf swaying to the beat of the mountain air, one of the Fuente family’s signature themes.
The Roman numerals on the dial, which are drawn from the clock that has historically featured on the family crest, are also important. The crowned lion at 9 o’clock represents the brand’s standing as the official cigar supplier to the Spanish court, as well as the great patriarch of the country.
This watch is powered by the UNICO caliber HUB1242 manufacturing movement, a flyback chronograph with 72-hour power reserve. “Big Bang Limited Edition” is etched on the case back, along with the edition number. The Fuente cigar emblem is in the middle, along with the letters “CF” for Carlos Fuente Sr. and the phrases “Edición de homenaje” (Spanish for “honor edition”).
This special edition timepiece is limited to 100 pieces and includes a lacquered hardwood gift box that can also be used as a cigar humidor.
