By Scott Campbell

From Hublot's skull series emerges a new skeleton tourbillon movement that is far from conventional.

Sleek and contemporary, the timepiece comes in a ceramic-coated aluminium that gives it a truly striking appearance.

The material, which is new to Hublot, is obtained through a treatment known as MAO (Microarc Oxidation) which consists of a surface conversion through plasma discharge in an electrolyte bath. This forms a ceramic layer which is hard, dense and adhesive. The micro-blasted finish is obtained through manual sanding which gives the case a distressed look and ensures each piece has a unique finish.

With a high hardness rating of around 1000 vickers, the ceramic-coated aluminium possesses excellent resistance to corrosion and friction, and is twice as light as ceramic.

At the heart of the Classic Fusion Tourbillon Skull is the manufacture's famed manual winding skeleton tourbillon movement with its 5-day power reserve – entirely designed, developed and manufactured in the workshops at the Hublot Manufacture – has also seen several transformations.

With a delicate technique the flat bridges are refined to have a 3-D look via a laser machining process. The distinctive white surface is obtained through an electroplating process whereby the rhodium-plated components are micro-blasted to turn them white.

The bone-shaped design with skull-shaped minute tourbillon barret (which rotates fully in one minute) creates a surprising and different piece: the perfect fusion of the traditional and the modern, the craftsmanship of the past and a 21st-century creative vision for watchmaking.

Finally, the indices on the timepiece are in Roman numerals, which is also a first for Hublot.