The third edition of LVMH Watch Week saw the expansion of the Hublot universe with numerous Big Bangs making their entry. These included the Unico Golf Orange Carbon, Integral Time Only, One Click, a new edition of the Sang Bleu, as well as a range of Hublot lines in the Yellow Gold Collection
Big Bang Unico Golf Orange Carbon
In 2017, and in partnership with the most successful golfer of his generation Dustin Johnson, Hublot introduced the world’s first mechanical golf watch, the Big Bang Unico Golf. Most golf watches are digital, but this innovative Swiss Made watch brought the joy of watchmaking mechanics to golfers’ wrists.
Hublot developed a module for their Unico movement so that through three apertures, the watch showed golfers which hole they were on, how many shots they’d taken on that hole, and their cumulative score for the round. The Big Bang Unico Golf Orange Carbon continues the story, casing the ground-breaking Hublot MHUB1580 automatic movement in zesty, lightweight orange carbon.
The 45mm Big Bang Unico Golf Orange Carbon is simple to operate. The shot-counting mechanism is activated by a yellow putter-shaped pusher at 2 o’clock, which also advances the yellow stroke counter visible through an aperture at 3 o’clock. When it’s time to move to the next hole, another putter-shaped pusher at 4 o’clock resets the shot indication to zero and advances the hole indication at 9 o’clock by one hole. The cumulative score goes up by one with every recorded shot, and is shown through an aperture at 6 o’clock.
At the end of a round, the display can be reset to zero via the pusher at 8 o’clock. This pusher can be locked by rotating it 45 degrees to avoid accidentally resetting your score during a round. The skeletonised timepiece reveals the movement’s inner workings, visualised by an intriguing dance of precisely choreographed moving parts. The Big Bang Unico Golf Orange Carbon has a power reserve of 72 hours, comes on a high-tech orange fabric strap with Hublot’s One Click change system, weighs less than 100 grams, and is water-resistant to 100 metres. It is limited to 100 pieces and is available now.
Big Bang Integral Time Only
In the Time Only collection, Hublot has succeeded in housing all the power and exclusivity of its Big Bang Integral in an unprecedented diameter of 40 mm. The collection welcomes three pieces, three hands, three materials, but just one diameter: 40 mm. This is a first for the Big Bang Integral.
Thinner than ever, perfectly adjusted in a case of yellow gold, titanium or ‘All Black’ ceramic, this new collection, simply named ‘Time Only’, refocuses on the essence of watchmaking: hours, minutes, seconds and the date, without losing any of the power of the watchmaker’s codes. The true aesthetic signature of the Big Bang Integral, the integrated bracelet, returns to give the watch its strength.
This iconic three-link bracelet mirrors the sharp edges of the case, echoing the vibrant and powerful architecture of the middle. Each link is individually polished and satin-finished, chamfered and bevelled, providing either matt or glossy complex, alternating surfaces to reflect every spark of light. The new 40 mm case is particularly well suited to this integrated bracelet.
Simplicity is clearly the guiding principle when it comes to the movement: these three ‘Time Only’ versions have a sapphire crystal on the face and back, where the Big Bang’s iconic oscillating weight is housed. The perfectly adjusted compact calibre, manufactured by the watchmaker, sits in its new 40mm space, filling it entirely. Each surface is satin-finished to provide a matt finish on the dial for perfect legibility. The index, hands, and date window of each version are finished in yellow gold, titanium, or All Black ceramic.
The ‘Time Only’ Big Bang Integral in titanium and yellow gold join the collection. The ‘All Black’ version, like all the All Blacks crafted by the watchmaker, is limited to 250 pieces.
Big Bang One Click
With even more sparkle this year, the Big Bang One Click 33s reveal their many facets and come with a new luxury. A collection of twelve silky bracelets, cut from ‘soft touch’ grained calf leather. Available in King Gold or steel, partially or fully set, the cases feature black or white polished dials, around which the precious hours are arranged. True to its Art of Fusion, Hublot attached them to a matching black or white rubber strap.
The iconic Big Bang Unico has passed on its strong character to them, but the new Big Bang One Click 33s are particularly notable for their sophistication. Already crowned with a set bezel, the highlight is the hour markers – eleven diamond markers are set around the dial, leaving the 3 o’clock position for the date. In their most exclusive version, the cases are also lined with eternal stones. They house the HUB1120 automatic movement, which vibrates at 28,800 beats per hour for forty consecutive hours in their hearts
Depending on the mood, they can change the style and look in one click, using the patented ‘One click’ system. Twelve Soft Touch calf leather straps produce subtle style changes on the wrist; twelve colours created with vegetable tanning in France. These straps are also available for the 39mm Big Bang One click and the 42mm Big Bang Unico.
Yellow Gold Collection
Hublot presents six models: Classic Fusion, Big Bang and Spirit of Big Bang; made entirely from yellow gold. Each piece marks a chapter in the Hublot adventure: the birth of the Big Bang, the Classic Fusion, the Spirit of Big Bang, the art of stone setting, skeleton work and the creation of the first manufacture movements, among others.
The Classic Fusion Chronograph is produced for the first time in yellow gold in a 42mm diameter, with a clean, understated, stylish, self-winding bicompax.
The Big Bang Integral is made entirely from yellow gold (case, bezel and bracelet). Designed from a single block of solid gold, it is also available fully set with diamonds, alongside the ultimate Haute Joaillerie version.
The Big Bang Unico and the sculptural Spirit of Big Bang complete the collection. The Big Bang is the first to feature a 42 mm case entirely in yellow gold with a rubber strap and Unico movement. The embodiment of Hublot’s 100% manufacture ethos, it features a calibre with a 3-day power reserve and an exterior that fuses yellow gold, deep black, skeleton work, performance and power.
The Spirit of Big Bang emphasises design, which takes the form of an exquisite tonneau with alternating straight lines and curves, featuring polished and satin-finished surfaces of brilliant yellow gold that create a spectacular dance of light. In a 42 mm version with skeleton movement, it shares its One Click interchangeable strap system with the Big Bang and is still powered by the calibre HUB4700, one of the most accurate movements available with a rate of 5Hz.
Big Bang Unico Sang Bleu II
The Hublot X Sang Bleu story continues, with three new iterations of the Big Bang Sang Bleu II. To mark their 7th year of collaboration, Maxime Plescia-Buchi chose to apply his ink to two iconic materials born from the Hublot Art of Fusion – Magic Gold and ceramic. Two scratch-resistant materials that nevertheless bear the indelible mark of the famous tattoo artist – 450 tattoos to wear on the wrist in 3 limited editions.
Maxime Plescia-Buchi works decisively and with no room for error. Whether on scratch-resistant materials patented by Hublot, such as Magic Gold, on ceramic or on the skin, his art is indelible. He employs three-dimensional geometry that incorporates expert use of relief and depth effects. The material itself is polished, satin-finished, sliced, carved, bevelled and faceted, featuring alternating and superimposed hexagons, rhombuses and triangles in perfect visual harmony.
The artistic collaboration between Hublot and Maxime Plescia-Buchi dates back to 2016. The watches are infused with tattoo art. Dozens of pieces engraved with the indelible mark of the talented “grapho-typo-tattoo” genius. In 2019, with the Sang Bleu II, the tattoo/watchmaking collaboration found its “full-body” expression, with Maxime Plescia-Buchi’s geometric patterns featured across the entire case, the hexagonal bezel, the sapphire crystal, the hands and the strap.
For the new trio, Hublot opted for the strongest materials in a further tour de force featuring scratch-resistant substrates deeply engraved in an irreversible way, just like a real tattoo. In a 45 mm diameter case made from Magic Gold or Ceramic, the master tattoo artist’s designs alternate and are superimposed on the case and bezel, with the mechanism-/disc-hands taking the form of a geometric tattoo that extends to the rubber strap.
This geometry reveals that of the HUB1240 manufacture self-winding Unico chronograph movement, which is visible beneath a skeleton dial and a transparent case back. All limited editions, Hublot is creating 100 pieces for the Magic Gold version, 250 for the Black Magic in full black ceramic, and 200 for the Green Ceramic.
Scratch-resistant gold did not exist until Hublot invented Magic Gold. Unique, developed and patented by the watch Manufacture, it is the first and only scratch-resistant 18-karat gold alloy in the world. With a hardness of almost 1000 Vickers, it is notoriously difficult to machine. Even more scratch-resistant is the Ceramic – traditional ceramic has a hardness of 1200 Vickers, whereas Hublot ceramic achieves 1500 Vickers.
