Hublot and Berluti, 5 years of collaboration and a new limited edition run of 100 pieces: the two houses explore shades of grey in a unique creative exercise: Hublot Big Bang Unico Berluti Aluminio.
“This new Big Bang Unico Berluti Aluminio isn’t quite what people were expecting – so, of course, that’s why we made it! In an urban style, it reflects the smooth, satin tones of the concrete that adorns the greatest cities. Understated but technical, monochrome but packed with nuance, it explores some very minimalist creative ground that we are not used to travelling. A piece that many will find surprising!” – Ricardo Guadalupe, HUBLOT CEO
“This Big Bang Unico Berluti Aluminio is a new expression of our collaboration with Hublot. Working in monochrome is a very demanding exercise in patina, finish and play of light to give the watch its volume. Once again, the combination of our emblematic Venezia leather and Hublot’s watchmaking expertise brings about a unique, subtle and contemporary result.” – House of Berluti
Announced in 2016, the partnership between the famous men’s fashion house and the most disruptive of the watchmaking brands has unveiled a new interpretation of the Big Bang Unico. Together, they have fused fashion and watchmaking, leather and titanium, form and substance.
The new Big Bang Unico Berluti Aluminio leverages this shared know-how and provides an understated, elegant, monochrome and timeless piece. It is a Big Bang for true collectors and connoisseurs. This edition will be limited to 100 copies, as with every collaboration between Hublot and Berluti.
The emblematic patinated Venezia leather is at the heart of the polished titanium bezel as well as on the dial, where the indices and words “Swiss Made” are gauffered directly on the surface. The leather is held between two pieces of sapphire glass, whose cut reveals the gears of the Unico movement, a feat of technical prowess. Working with Berluti, a technique was developed to encapsulate natural leather hues and crystallize them in time; in this way, their beauty is rendered in an authentic and unchanging manner. As for the strap, it symbolizes the perfect fusion of the two worlds and it is available in two versions: one in burnished Aluminio Venezia leather; another in patinated Aluminio Venezia leather with the Scritto motif, exclusively for Japan.
Aluminio is one of Berluti’s signature patinas. It perfectly transcribes the light onto the different tones of the Venezia leather.
For this model, Hublot took responsibility for the new, two-part bezel design. With the help of a sticky, rigid resin, the first piece of the bezel—in leather, about 1 mm thick—is inserted onto the second piece, in grey titanium, and then screwed onto the case of the watch. This will allow the bezel to be patinated time, just like the strap.
To bring the patinated Aluminio Venezia leather into harmony with its mechanical ensemble, the Hublot Manufacture chose from the vast palette of materials at its disposal: titanium for the 44-mm case and its deployant clasp, resin for the central horn, tungsten for the oscillating weight, and satin-finished rhodium for the hands. Building on more than 40 years of ground-breaking designs, Hublot masters the full spectrum of watchmaking materials and was thus able to create a Big Bang that was perfectly tuned to the nuances of the patinated Berluti leather.
The Big Bang Unico Berluti Aluminio also reveals part of its beating heart. The gears of the Unico movement, an authentic manufacture self-winding Flyback chronograph with three full days of power reserve, can be admired thanks to the cut of the two pieces of sapphire glass that hold the leather on the dial-side. A rare and contemporary piece, the Big Bang Unico Berluti Aluminio will be delivered in a special case with a travel pouch, and a shoehorn key ring with the Berluti logo.
Hublot Big Bang Unico Berluti Aluminio Technical Specifications
Ref. 421.NX.0500.VR.BER21 – Limited to 100 pieces
Movement
- Hublot MHUB1280
- Self-winding UNICO Manufacture chronograph
- Flyback movement with column wheel
- Frequency: 4 Hz (28,800 A/h)
- Power reserve: 72 hours
- Number of components: 354
- Rubies: 43
Case
- Satin-finished and polished titanium
- Diameter: 44 mm
- Thickness: 15.45 mm
- Water resistance: 10 ATM (100 m)
Case back
- Satin-finished titanium etched with “LIMITED EDITION 100NUM” and “BERLUTI”
- Sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating
Bezel
- Satin-finished and polished titanium with a genuine patinated Venezia leather insert by Berluti
Dial
- Genuine patinated Venezia leather by Berluti with indices in relief and words “Swiss Made”
Strap & Buckle
- Black rubber and genuine patinated Venezia leather by Berluti
- Titanium deployant buckle clasp
Price
- 23,900.00 CHF / 24,800.00 EUR / 25,200.00 USD / 20,800.00 GBP
About Berluti
Berluti was established in Paris in 1895 and has been built by four generations of shoemakers. In 2005 fine leather goods were introduced and, in 2011, a complete clothing collection. A unique bespoke service from head to toe is now available through Berluti’s wo rkshops in rue Marbeuf and rue de Sèvres. Berluti now has over 60 stores worldwide.
About Hublot
Founded in Switzerland in 1980, HUBLOT is defined by its innovation, which began with the highly original combination of gold and rubber. This “Art of Fusion” stems from the imagination of its visionary Chairman, Jean-Claude Biver, and has been driven forward by CEO Ricardo Guadalupe since 2012.
The release of the iconic, multi-award-winning Big Bang in 2005 paved the way for new flagship collections (Classic Fusion, Spirit of Big Bang), with complications ranging from the simple to the highly sophisticated, establishing the extraordinary DNA of the Swiss watchmaking house and ensuring its impressive growth.
Keen to preserve its traditional and cutting-edge expertise, and guided by its philosophy to “Be First, Different and Unique”, the Swiss watchmaker is consistently ahead of the curve, through its innovations in materials (scratch-resistant Magic Gold, ceramics in vibrant colours, sapphire), and the creation of Manufacture movements (Unico, Meca-10, Tourbillon).
HUBLOT is fully committed to creating a Haute Horlogerie brand with a visionary future: a future which is fused with the key events of our times (FIFA World CupTM, UEFA Champions LeagueTM, UEFA EUROTM) and the finest ambassadors our era has to offer (Chiara Ferragni, Pelé, Kylian Mbappé, Usain Bolt, Novak Djokovic).
Discover the HUBLOT universe at our network of boutiques located in key cities across the globe: Geneva, Paris, London, New York, Hong Kong, Dubai, Tokyo, Singapore, Zurich and at HUBLOT.com