The Big Bang Unico Winter Sapphire and Winter Titanium Ceramic bring Hublot’s seasonal concept into a sharper, chillier focus, using the familiar Unico architecture as a canvas for a very deliberate play of light, transparency and glossed-metal textures. These winter references are not shy special editions but fully fledged Big Bangs with a clear brief: to transpose the brand’s “Art of Fusion” into a frozen, blue‑white register while keeping all the mechanical punch of the HUB1280 calibre.
Both Winter models use rhodium‑plated skeleton dials, which immediately anchor them in the Unico family’s open‑worked aesthetic and give pride of place to the mechanics beneath. The chronograph’s layered construction remains legible despite the transparency, with sub‑counters, applied indices and the date display integrated in a way that reads as a coherent whole rather than a technical exercise.
The palette leans into icy tones, matching the case treatments with white and glacier‑blue accents, while the rhodium‑plated elements pick up ambient light and mirror it back with a cold sheen. The surfaces show a careful alternation of matt and polished finishes across the bridges and chapter ring, so that the dial never feels flat even though a large portion of it is open to the movement.
The HUB1280 Unico movement
Inside both Winter references beats the Hublot HUB1280 Unico, a manufacture self‑winding flyback chronograph calibre with a 4 Hz frequency and a very practical power reserve of around 72 hours. It is built from 354 components with 43 jewels and integrates the chronograph into the mainplate, with the column wheel visible dial side, a distinctive signature of the Unico family.
Technically, this is a sophisticated construction protected by five patents, including dual oscillating horizontal clutches, an anti‑trembling system, a zero‑friction ratchet wheel blocker, a constant‑pressure friction system for the minute counter and a fine adjustment mechanism for the balance. The escapement uses silicon components for improved performance and magnetic resistance, and the flyback function allows the chronograph to be reset and restarted in one action, reinforcing the movement’s sport‑orientated character.
Decoration is very much in line with Hublot’s industrial, architectural language rather than traditional haute horlogerie codes, but it is no less deliberate. The bridges are skeletonised and finished with brushed and microblasted surfaces that emphasise their geometry, and the edges are sharp and clean rather than soft and romantic. The oscillating weight is a highlight in these Winter editions, executed in grey ruthenium‑coated tungsten and cut into a snowflake motif that is clearly visible through the sapphire case‑back, functioning as both technical mass and thematic signature.
The Big Bang Unico Winter Sapphire, reference 441.JX.429B.VR, pushes the idea of winter transparency to its limit with a 42 mm polished sapphire crystal case and bezel. At 14.50 mm thick and rated to 5 ATM (50 metres), it stays within the recognisable Big Bang proportions, while the full sapphire construction, including a polished transparent sapphire case‑back, turns the watch into a light‑catching object that feels almost weightless on the wrist compared with metal versions. This edition is limited to 30 pieces, underlining its role as a niche, almost collector‑orientated proposition within the broader Big Bang universe.
Its sibling, the Big Bang Unico Winter Titanium Ceramic, reference 441. .429B.VR, opts for a more pragmatic architecture with a microblasted titanium case and case‑back, combined with a microblasted white ceramic bezel. The dimensions remain 42 mm in diameter and 14.50 mm in thickness, but water resistance is increased to 10 ATM (100 metres), reinforcing its everyday versatility and aligning it more closely with the robust expectations that often accompany titanium sports chronographs. Hublot’s high‑tech ceramic, introduced in 2018, is prized here for its hardness and scratch resistance, and the white finish marries the winter theme with the tactile pleasure of ceramic against the fingertips.
Both watches rely on Hublot’s One Click strap‑change system, supplied standard with white rubber and white calfskin straps. An additional white rubber and blue calfskin strap is included, allowing the aesthetic to shift quickly from monochrome white to a stronger ice‑blue accent without tools.
Ending and conclusion
The Big Bang Unico Winter editions extend a narrative that started with the Summer Unico series and now secures winter as a recurring chapter in Hublot’s calendar. With the Big Bang celebrating its twentieth anniversary, these watches show that the core idea still has room to evolve through material innovation and thematic storytelling without losing the recognisable Unico identity.
The Winter Sapphire is the connoisseur’s choice, a 30‑piece exercise in transparent engineering where the icy hues, sapphire architecture and snowflake rotor work together to give the HUB1280 centre stage. The Winter Titanium Ceramic, with 200 pieces and stronger water resistance, offers a more grounded proposition that keeps the same mechanical interest and winter aesthetic in a package that feels naturally suited to real‑world wear. Both models succeed in turning the seasonal capsule into something coherent and technically engaging, making them compelling entries in the growing lineage of Big Bang Unico special editions. The Big Bang Unico Winter Sapphire is positioned at 70,000 CHF (80,000 EUR, 80,500 USD, 66,100 GBP), while the Winter Titanium Ceramic comes in at 22,900 CHF (26,200 EUR, 26,300 USD, 21,600 GBP).
