To be First, Unique, and Different. This is the guiding principle upon which Hublot has built an exceptional reputation in just a few decades. On the landscape of high watchmaking, Hublot is like no other. For it’s first ever watch, this fundamentally disruptive Manufacture dared to combine gold with a rubber strap in a sporty case with a design inspired by a ship’s porthole (Hublot in French).
Thus, the Art of Fusion was born: a fusion of tradition, innovation, craftsmanship, worlds, and talents. It became the brand’s aesthetic and technical signature, combining traditional watchmaking savoir-faire with the most cutting-edge technologies and unexpected materials.
This identity was further strengthened in 2005 with the creation of the Big Bang. This now iconic timepiece is constantly evolving, attesting to an unrivalled know-how in terms of complications, manufacture movements and state-of-the-art materials.
This ground-breaking and rebellious approach to watchmaking gave rise to other collections that explored innovative designs: Classic Fusion, Spirit of Big Bang, Square Bang and Manufacture Pieces. All of them draw on high levels of craftsmanship, both in terms of materials (Magic Gold, brightly coloured ceramics, and sapphires) and its in-house movements (Unico chronograph manufacture calibre, Meca-10, grand complications and the movements specific to the Manufacture Pieces such as the MP-11 and MP-09.
Hublot’s world extends to powerful partnerships including football, the worlds of art, design, music, sport, and fine dining. With Alan Roura and the Hublot Sailing Team, Hublot returns to its roots, especially for its name. All of them embody the Art of Fusion, offering the brand’s customers a unique experience. Lastly, Hublot’s implication in joint environmental projects with SORAI and Polar Pod reflects its concern for the issues of the day.
SAXEM, ACT II: THE BIG BANG TOURBILLON AUTOMATIC NOW IN NEON YELLOW SAXEM
Hublot continues its exploration of SAXEM – a material often used in satellites and some lasers – allowing the Manufacture to obtain unprecedented translucent colours, of which neon yellow. A first for Hublot and for watchmaking.
Reproducing a translucent case in a bright, fluorescent shade of neon yellow may seem like a simple idea. But, in fact, it was incredibly complex to achieve. The yellow is a powerful, bright neon colour which almost seems to glow from the inside, like a fluorescent material. An intense fluorescent shade of acid yellow, citrus-like in its quality. To meet this highly technical challenge, Hublot had to search for a solution in space technology. In fact, SAXEM was developed in the field of satellite technology. A unique material that had also been used in 2019 for the Big Bang MP-11.
At the time, Hublot had crafted it in emerald green. This time, the goal was to achieve a brand-new neon yellow colour. It also had to meet the strict requirements of the Nyon Manufacture for its sapphire watches: complete transparency and incredible resistance. After three years of research and development, the challenge was met and overcome with the Big Bang Tourbillon Automatic Yellow Neon SAXEM.
What is SAXEM? It stands for “Sapphire Aluminium oXide and rare Earth Mineral”. It is an alloy of aluminium oxide, the basic component of sapphire, with rare earth elements like thulium and holmium as well as chromium. The resulting material is ultra-resistant and endowed with a brilliance that is greater than that of sapphire. The absence of tension within the material ensures greater stability in terms of shaping, whereas the cubic crystalline structure guarantees the same shade and intensity of colour, regardless of the angle from which the case is viewed. The fully polished neon yellow SAXEM offers a bold contrast with the bezel’s six H-shaped screws and with the crown, all in polished and micro-blasted titanium.
In terms of movement, the Big Bang Tourbillon Automatic Yellow Neon SAXEM is powered by the HUB6035 self-win-ding Manufacture calibre. Hublot has chosen the most difficult technical route, self-winding using a micro-rotor, the only way to avoid concealing the back of the movement as a conventional rotor would have done. On top of that, the Manufacture has chosen to skeletonise the entire calibre. This is a stratospheric feat of watchmaking which pushes open-worked materials to the limits of their functional resistance, almost nothing remains that would conceal the calibre. Entirely visible and fully laid bare, even its bridges are made from sapphire so that only the beating heart and soul of the watch remain. This heart is the tourbillon, which appears to be suspended in mid-air. This architecture serves to free the piece from any visual clutter. Positioned at 6 o’clock, it offers the technical and hypnotic spectacle of a high-precision Haute Horlogerie piece, designed as a 21st-century interpretation: modern, disruptive, dazzling.
Finally, to make it suitable for daily use, the Big Bang Tourbillon Automatic Yellow Neon SAXEM offers a guaranteed 72-hour power reserve – making the piece perfectly weekend-proof.
This timepiece, which will be exclusively available as a limited edition of 50 pieces, comes with a neon yellow textured rubber strap, tailor-made for this watch, com-plete with a titanium deployant buckle and equipped with the One Click system so that it can be changed immediately with no need for tools.
HUBLOT AND CHEVAL BLANC RANDHELI CELEBRATE THE LUXURY RESORT 9TH ANNIVERSARY WITH TWO NEW SPECIAL EDITION TIMEPIECES
In celebration of Cheval Blanc Randheli 9th anniversary, Hublot honors its continued partnership with the iconic Maison by introducing limited editions of the Big Bang Unico and the Big Bang One Click watches, each in twenty-five numbered pieces.
The Big Bang Unico Cheval Blanc Randheli and the Big Bang One Click Cheval Blanc Randheli combine Hublot’s flair for style, sophistication, and mechanical innovation in stylish timepieces that are as vibrant and elegant as the idyllic Maldivian hotel it is named after.
Incorporating Cheval Blanc’s splendid shades of taupe and Randheli’s mesmerizing pop yellow sun, the two timepieces capture every moment of the memorable stay featuring an alligator strap in white and warm grey and a polished yellow ceramic bezel. The dials in shades of taupereflect the colors of the warm wooden decks and elegant deco elements adorning the Maison the Big Bang Unico dial is dressed in a matt taupecolor while the Big Bang One click features a sunray taupe dial set with 11 brilliant white diamonds. The watches come with an additional white line rubber strap giving the wearer additional styling possibilities.
This collaboration follows the successful launch of the 2016 and 2017 Cheval Blanc Randheli special edition watches and is inspired by Hublot’s signature art of fusion merging two worlds: luxury watchmaking and exceptional hospitality. They are a perfect souvenir for the guests of the unspoiled Noonu Atoll at Cheval Blanc Randheli.
The Big Bang Unico Cheval Blanc Randheli and the Big Bang One Click Cheval Blanc Randheli special
editions are only available at the Cheval Blanc Randheli Concept Store, in the dedicated Hublot area
that reflects the identity of the most iconic Hublot boutiques around the world.
THE BIG BANG UNICO SORAI TIME FOR RHINOS
In the battle against extinction, time is everything and every second counts.
Hublot has been supporting SORAI – Save Our Rhino Africa India –since 2019. An organisation founded by Hublot ambassador and former international cricket star Kevin Pietersen. His work helps keep rhinos threatened with extinction safe from poachers. As with the two previous limited editions, part of the proceeds from the sale of the 100 Big Bang Unico SORAI will be donated to the organisation. The colours chosen for the third limited edition are those of sunset, recalling the heightened danger faced by rhinos as night falls. Here, the sun is a symbol of hope, of a new dawn.
A watch made to support rhinos.
Because the rhino’s only predators are humans.
Because every day, every minute and every second counts.
Because each Big Bang Unico SORAI will buy time for endangered rhinos.
Because, on the ground, we need to be faster than the poachers.
Because poaching is one of the greatest threats to biodiversity and risks for species extinction, second only to the destruction of natural habitats.
One of the “BIG FIVE” and the second largest mammal after the elephant, the rhino has seen its numbers drop by 90% over the last ten years. On average, three wild rhinos are killed every day, leaving fewer than 30,000 rhinos currently alive across the world. And while trade in rhino horn has been banned internationally since 1977 by CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), poachers continue to hunt and kill rhinos for their horns, whose price is worth more per kilo than gold.
Since 2018, SORAI has supported projects to protect endangered animals, identify new technologies to combat poaching (thermal cameras, GPS tracking of animals) and raise awareness of the need to protect these endangered species. In line with its motto, BE THECHANGE “, SORAI is pushing change and wor-king to prevent poaching and hunting. There are many ways to combat poaching (raising public awareness, education, law enforcement, transmitters for tracking animals, increasing ranger numbers and creating sanc-tuaries for injured or orphaned animals). However, prevention and active rangers on the ground remain the most effective tools.
Proceeds from the sale of the Big Bang Unico SORAI will go directly to projects supported by SORAI to equip helicopters with cameras, raise awareness in schools about the consequences of poaching and to provide backup to rangers on the ground. These strategies are implemented where the need is biggest and most pressing: South Africa. South Africa is home to more than 80% of the world’s total population of rhinos, with the majority of poaching taking place in Kruger National Park, as it has the largest population of wild white rhinos left on earth.
Sculpted from polished and microblasted rhino-grey ceramic specially developed for this limited edition, the Big Bang Unico SORAI features an openworked dial featuring the glowing colours of sunset when the sky catches fire. It is at nightfall that poachers swing into action, cloaked in darkness and more difficult to track. The colours of daybreak: yellow, orange, purple and pink represent the hope brought by the dawn, of a new day and a chance at change. Inside the 44 mm diameter case of the Big Bang Unico SORAI, beats the Unico self-winding Manufacture movement with a 72-hour power reserve.
Thanks to the patented One Click interchangeable strap system, the Big Bang Unico SORAI can be worn with a grey fabric and Velcro version or a black, purple and orange camouflage design reflecting the hues of sunset and sunrise.
SORAI
SORAI is a socially conscious enterprise that collaborates with the world’s most progressive brands and their audiences to support the conservation of key endangered species. In short, our Purpose is that we exist to bring people and business together to ensure that Africa & India’s keystone species survive and thrive in the wild. Forever!
Founded in 2018 by former international cricketer and conservationist Kevin Pietersen, SORAI has supported grassroots organisations that rescue abandoned, injured, and orphaned endangered species and rehabilitate them where possible.
Alongside its network of global partners, SORAI is also committed to bringing attention to the plight of these animals through award-winning television and digital content. Together with our partners, we work to connect with communities around the world to raise awareness of the importance of these animals and their value for future generations.
The SORAI emblem is a symbol for change. It informs, it empowers, it unites people through conservation.
SORAI, Be the Change.
Oursorai.com
CLASSIC FUSION ORIGINAL
33 mm, 38 mm, 42 mm
42 years of audacity.
Hublot brings back the watch that shook up conventions in 1980. Both refined and sporty, this precious gold case strapped on a simple rubber strap, unthinkable at the time, sent huge shock waves through the world of fine watchmaking. By winning over an audience of connois-seurs who were searching for different watch products, so began a tireless visionary momentum, impelled by audacity. This vision inspires the Maison in everything it does, including new product development, designs and partnerships. The Classic Fusion Original celebrates this youthful maturity with timeless simplicity.
Echoes of Carlo Crocco’s original design are recognizable in the rubber strap, the purity of the polished black lacquered dial that is only distracted by time, embodied by the facetted hands; the yellow gold and the Maison’s hallmark signature. At first sight, seemingly similar to the original, the logo has become more modern and contemporary over time. A past tense conjugated in the present.
Today, the Classic Fusion Original is available in yellow gold, titanium and ceramic; the cases are available in 42, 38 and 33mm. Like the seals, the 6 famous screws place their hallmark on the bezels; their sapphire case backs reveal the mechanical parts. Hublot’s iconic details bring the original watch up-to-date, to undoubtedly make it a new timeless, classic.
A case of returning to the past to better shape the future. In all, there are just 500 pieces of this redesigned watch that collectors are sure to transform into a legend.
“Daring… Shattering established conventions, mastering traditional heritage to push back the boundaries, merging high-tech composites with precious, natural materials, working with sectors or people who transcend our motto “to be first, unique and different.” 40 exhilarating years have shaped these Classic Fusion Originals. We have redesigned them because Hublot has changed, they embody these rebellious alliances that make us who we are today.”
RICARDO GUADALUPE – HUBLOT CEO
RAINBOW EDITIONS: THE BIG BANG IS SEEING DOUBLE
They may share the same bright look but don’t let that fool you: these new Big Bang models are in fact very different.
What is the rule for new pieces presented during LVMH Watch Week? Even if there were any rules, Hublot would probably not have followed them – just as the brand doesn’t follow any playbook! For this first watchmaking event of 2023, the Manufacture has drawn inspiration from its 2022 best-seller, sprinkled with a touch of Haute Joaillerie folly in creating a pair of non-identical twin watches that invite us to play and revel in the art of bejewelled case setting. Although there are two new Big Bang models, we can enjoy a fun game of “Spot The Difference”… there are seven in all!
Let’s start with what is the same. The first similarity is a feast for the eyes. No need to be a gem expert to appreciate this: both pieces are Rainbow models, they are adorned with a river of translucent gemstones in a perfect gradation of colours, seamlessly running through all the shades of the rainbow.
The two pieces are not simply stone-set, but fully paved from the case to the bezel to the bracelet. Precious stones take their place alongside the most stunning minerals: ruby, amethyst, blue topaz, and tsavorite, as well as a whole spectrum of sapphires – pink, orange, blue and yellow. Each radiant gemstone with its own unique hue, the subtle nuances of which have been paired, one by one, thanks to the expert eyes and hands of the master stone-setter. There are 174 gemstones in total for the Big Bang Integrated and 176 gemstones for the Time Only, and the bracelet for each piece features 768 and 748 set gemstones respectively.
Next, they are both cut from the same metal or alloy: King Gold, so dear to Hublot, and mastered solely by its own Manufacture. This alloy offers a warmer gold colour than traditional 18K 5N gold. Containing platinum, it lends itself perfectly to all the polishing and satin-finishing operations used to full effect on these two variations, alternating flat satin-finished surfaces and polished chamfers whose brilliance sparkles in harmony with each of the gemstones set on the piece.
Finally, the two pieces share the same completely black dial: main plate, flange and date window. These elements are cloaked in an intense black which offers the perfect monochrome backdrop to showcase the full radiance of the rainbow setting. Two large skeleton hands and a gold crown over-moulded with black rubber form two “ears” at either side at 3 o’clock and 9 o’clock. The case and bracelet are perfectly united: seamless in style, material and colour all while offering complete comfort to the wearer.
Each piece is powered by its own movement. The first is a chronograph, equipped with the Unico Manufacture self-winding movement – the original movement from the Hublot Manufacture – a skeleton calibre offering a power reserve of three full days. This prestigious mechanism beats within a large 42-mm diameter case.
The second piece is concentrated within a 40-mm diameter case – the first time this diameter has been available on the Big Bang since it was unveiled in 2022 – which gives it a more compact, edgy character. The movement, three hands and date on this “Time Only” are the perfect fit for the case which fills the whole space. The Big Bang Integrated Time Only King Gold Rainbow is well below the 10 mm mark in terms of thickness (measuring just 9.25 mm) and is the perfect fusion of Haute Horlogerie technicity and Haute Joaillerie levity!
BIG BANG ONE CLICK SAPPHIRE DIAMONDS
A culmination of Hublot’s “Art of Fusion” for those who share the same spirit of independence
In search of the perfect fusion between movement and case, Hublot engineers and chemists have researched and developed a transparent material which reveals the heart of the watch, all while being robust enough to effectively protect the mechanism. That’s how the Manufacture has become the expert of synthetic sapphire, a material from which it derives its aesthetic qualities that are unique within watchmaking – transforming each watch into a work of art.
The Art of Fusion is expressed right through to the heart of the movement. Simple watches with innovative watchmaking concepts, Hublot has created a range of unique “in-house” movements. A unique design of the Unico automatic chronograph. An unparalleled power reserve of Meca-10, Tourbillon and MP-11 calibers. A revolutionary motor approach with 11 MP-05 barrels and 50-day power reserve. In its “Art of Fusion,” Hublot carries out a perfect symbiosis between functionality, architecture and design.
CLASSIC FUSION GOLD CRYSTAL CERAMIC
An alchemy of materials and spirit
From the first use of rubber in watchmaking, to creating new precious alloys, such as scratch-proof Magic Gold, and producing revolutionary composites like ceramic and sapphire with unique colours, materials are always at heart of the Hublot universe. To achieve its “Art of Fusion,” the Manufacture has its own Metallurgy and Materials laboratory, working in close collaboration with the Research and Development department, as well as its own foundry. These innovative materials are created and manufactured using the latest technologies, unique in watchmaking and developed by Hublot.
Gold has always intrigued mankind. To understand this love of the yellow metal, you need to dig deep, deep in the history of time and our planet. Gold has been part of the Universe since shortly after its birth with the Big Bang. This means that all of the atoms on the Earth have been here since it was formed, some 4.6 billion years ago. A long time after, nearly 50 million years ago, auriferous veins appeared following the formation of mountain chains. Under the surface of the Earth, water wended its way, carrying with it mineral salts and metals that were deposited in conducive spots. These metals included gold. Hundreds of thousands of years ago, glaciers eroded the igneous rock that held these gold-bearing veins. Carried away by the water in rivers, the gold was then deposited on riverbeds.
The Research and Development Department at the Hublot manufacture heats gold in the purest form possible—24 carats—to melting point, which creates emanations of gold that we could compare to steam carrying atoms of gold. These particles rise through this emanation, then set in a crystalline form when they reach the cold surface. They agglomerate there as crystals with completely random shapes that are never the same twice.
SPIRIT OF BIG BANG TOURBILLON 5-DAY POWER RESERVE
SPIRIT OF BIG BANG TOURBILLON CARBON SKY BLUE
Competition material on the wrist
Popular in motor racing, carbon possesses unrivalled mechanical qualities. It is ultra-lightweight, resists torsion and stands out with its optimal relationship between weight and resistance. This high-tech material is in the form of a fiber mesh embedded in an epoxy resin. Hublot also uses a 3D carbon where the fibers are woven on three planes. Other models use a “frosted” carbon with coloured inclusions.
SPIRIT OF BIG BANG TOURBILLON PURPLE SAPPHIRE
A new frontier is reached in the art of sapphire
In search of the perfect fusion between movement and case, Hublot engineers and chemists have researched and developed a transparent material which reveals the heart of the watch, all while being robust enough to effectively protect the mechanism. That’s how the Manufacture has become the expert of synthetic sapphire, a material from which it derives its aesthetic qualities that are unique within watchmaking – transforming each watch into a work of art.
The airy effect of the movement is accentuated by a fine skeletonised and sandblasted plate. The tourbillon carriage at 6 o’clock, which turns on itself in one minute, is remarkable for its refined geometry, letting you plunge into the heart of the mechanism. The visibility of the open dial is enhanced by hands and hour markers highlighted by a luminescent coating. The transparent purple rubber strap with lined relief – featuring the patented One Click express interchangeability system and titanium folding clasp – completes the avant-garde style.
HUBLOT
Hublot is a Swiss watch manufacturer founded in 1980 and based in Nyon. For its first ever timepiece, this fundamentally disruptive company combined gold with a rubber strap in a case with a design inspired by a ship’s porthole (hublot in French). Thus, the Art of Fusion was born, blending tradition, innovation, craftsmanship, worlds and talents. It became the brand’s aesthetic and technical signature.
This identity was strengthened in 2005 with the Big Bang, which attested to an unrivalled know-how in terms of complications, manufacture movements and state-of-the-art materials. Carbon, titanium, ceramic and sapphire have been developed on this model to technical extremes.
This ground-breaking, high-quality approach to watchmaking is summed up in its philosophy ‘Be First, Unique and Different.’ It gradually led to other collections with innovative designs: Classic Fusion, Spirit of Big Bang, Square Bang and Manufacture Pieces. These draw on high levels of craftsmanship, both in terms of the materials so dear to Hublot (such as Magic Gold, brightly-coloured ceramics and sapphires) and its manufacture movements (Unico chronograph, Meca-10 and large complications such as the Tourbillon, the Cathedral Minute Repeater and the specific Manufacture Pieces movements).
Hublot’s world extends to powerful partnerships including football. ‘Hublot Loves Football’ has become the slogan at the world’s biggest sporting events (such as the FIFA World CupTM, Premier League, UEFA Champions League, UEFA EUROTM) and through its ambassadors. This love of football continues in art, design, music, sport, fine dining and sailing. Lastly, Hublot’s implication in joint environmental projects with SORAI and Polar Pod reflects its concern for the issues of the day. Almost 130 boutiques around the world share Hublot’s fervour and values, alongside the Hublot.com e-commerce site.