Kobe Bryant, aka the Black Mamba, is celebrated for many things, including five NBA championships, two Olympic gold medals and four All-Star MVPs. He is also famous for being fiercely loyal to the Lakers, having played his entire career in Los Angeles. Still, he has not always been known for being a team player.
These days, Bryant is showing signs of mellowing. He’s gained a new nickname, “Vino,” that indicates he’s aging like a fine wine. And last week, he appeared at Hublot’s Los Angeles boutique to help launch the Swiss company’s latest limited edition watch, The King Power Los Angeles Lakers. Bryant has already lent his name to two classic sport watches—the King Power Black Mamba and the King Power Black Mamba King Gold—so it was nice to see him share the stage with the organization, including 1980s-era Lakers’ legend James Worthy. We should also note that although Hublot became the Lakers’ Official Timekeeper in 2013, this is their first team collaboration.
The Hublot King Power Los Angeles Lakers timepiece
The Hublot King Power Los Angeles Lakers is a super-sized and sporty chronograph housed in a 48mm checkered, black carbon fiber case and framed in a black micro-blasted ceramic and micro-blasted titanium with 6 black PVD H-shaped relief titanium screws.
What makes the Los Angeles Lakers more than a standard King Power are the many nods to the Lakers’ heritage. The skeletonized dial is decorated with yellow hands and indices, purple markers and the Lakers’ logo at 3 o’clock. Each of the 50 watches available for sale comes with two interchangeable straps—the variation pictured here is made from an authentic yellow Lakers jersey stitched to black rubber. And the sapphire crystal display back is printed with another Lakers’ logo.
Even the movement—an in-house Hublot caliber HUB 4248—has been designed to count a maximum of 48 minutes (the length of an NBA basketball game). The King Power Los Angeles Lakers is a celebration of the team and its history.
