Watch Paparazzi

Footballer Cristiano Ronaldo spotted wearing Hublot

At the 2020 FIFA Best Football Awards, Cristiano Ronaldo arrived as a nominee and departed without the trophy. What did not go unnoticed, however, was the extraordinary horological statement on his wrist: the Hublot MP-09 Tourbillon Bi-Axis in King Gold with full baguette-diamond setting, reference 909.OX.4302. Few watches in any collection command a room quite like this one.

The MP-09 sits at the apex of Hublot's Masterpiece line, a series reserved for the manufacture's most technically ambitious work. The calibre HUB9009.H1.RA powers the piece, delivering a bi-axial tourbillon that rotates on two perpendicular axes — one completing a rotation every 30 seconds, the other every 60 seconds. The architecture addresses gravitational error across multiple planes rather than a single one, a feat of micro-engineering that demands extraordinary hand-finishing and assembly time. A 5-day power reserve is stored across a twin-barrel configuration, and the time is displayed via a distinctive 3D module suspended within the sapphire-walled case. The case itself measures 49mm and is crafted in Hublot's proprietary King Gold, an 18-karat rose gold alloy enriched with platinum to resist surface scratching — a material Hublot trademarked and uses exclusively.

Reference 909.OX.4302 takes the already spectacular base movement and encases it in a fully baguette-set configuration, with diamonds covering the bezel, lugs, and crown in precisely cut rectangular stones. The result is a watch that operates simultaneously as an haute horlogerie complication and a piece of high jewellery — a duality that appeals strongly to the ultra-high-net-worth collector who demands both substance and spectacle.

Ronaldo has long been among the most visible advocates for Hublot, having served as a brand ambassador. His choice of this particular reference — rather than a more conventional dress watch for a black-tie awards ceremony — reflects a collector instinct that gravitates toward mechanical extremity over conservative elegance.

With a UK list price of £600,000, the Hublot MP-09 Tourbillon Bi-Axis ref. 909.OX.4302 sits firmly in grand complication jewellery-watch territory. Production numbers are extremely limited, and secondary market transactions are rare and highly private, typically handled through specialist brokers rather than public auction channels.