Not all images were able to load for printing. Please close the print window and try again. Hublot Celebrates the 20th Anniversary of its Iconic Big Bang
The Big Bang celebrates two decades of explosive success with five limited editions fusing details of the first Big Bang with upgrades from the Big Bang Unico.
In the beginning, there was a Big Bang! According to scientists, the Big Bang Theory explains the universe’s origin: a hot dense point that rapidly expanded and stretched over 13.7 billion years ago. No doubt inspired by the impact of the name and its projected expansion over time, Hublot unveiled its Big Bang Chronograph 20 years ago. When it erupted on the scene in 2005, it was the paragon of a loud, oversized, high-testosterone watch bristling with an audacious design and an unusual fusion of materials. Celebrating its 20th anniversary, Hublot revisits milestones in the collection’s history with five models designed to evoke the style and materials associated with the earliest Big Bangs, fusing elements from its brother, the Big Bang Unico.
The Big Bang has an even more remote origin in founder Carlo Crocco’s Classic Fusion model of 1980, with its porthole-inspired bezel and unprecedented fusion of gold with a rubber strap. However, it took the marketing genius and larger-than-life personality of CEO Jean-Claude Biver to blast the Big Bang into orbit (read about the brand’s early days here). By taking Crocco’s original spirit of fusion and supersizing it, Biver detonated a success story that has not stopped evolving.
The first Big Bang of 2005 laid down the blueprint of the “Art of Fusion” with its combination of metal (steel or gold), fibreglass, rubber and ceramic for the case and a chequered dial recalling the look and feel of carbon fibre with a dash of red. True to its name, the 44.5mm case was big even then, and its crazy combination of materials coupled with its overly designed case provoked reactions of all kinds.
Twenty years later, Hublot revisits its groundbreaking watch with five limited-edition anniversary models that fuse the original Big Bang’s design with features from the Big Bang Unico, powered by Hublot’s first in-house Unico movement in 2010. The distinctive layered case construction of the first Big Bangs, with pinched lugs and a knurled bezel edge, is recreated here. While all five models share a 43mm case with a thickness of 13.20mm, each flaunts a material associated with the original collection.
The engraved dials with a raised carbon fibre-inspired motif feature the iconic riveted Arabic numerals and indices of the original BB but are filled with Super-LumiNova like the BB Unico. Another upgrade is the incorporation of the Unico automatic manufacture chronograph movement, fitted with a commemorative 20th-anniversary gold rotor. The HUB1280 Unico calibre is an integrated flyback chronograph with a column wheel, a 4Hz frequency and a solid 72-hour power reserve. However, the movement means that the traditional 3-counter BB layout is exchanged for two, with small seconds at 9 o’clock and the larger 60-minute chronograph register at 3 o’clock. Last but not least, the mandatory rubber strap with a lozenge pattern gets an upgrade with the BB Unico’s One-Click strap-change system.
The Titanium Ceramic (limited to 500 pieces) and King Gold Ceramic (250 pieces) Big Bang models pay homage to the 2005 model with their fusion of materials, combining a titanium or King Gold case with a sleek black ceramic bezel and rubber accents. Another blast from the past is the reappearance of the rubber-tipped rectangular pushers.
Impossible to miss, the Red Magic anniversary model, limited to 100 pieces, is a testament to Hublot’s pursuit of brightly coloured ceramic. Red ceramic was one of the first colours developed by Hublot in 2018. The powerful combination of red ceramic with black details and the carbon-patterned dial produces a racy, eye-catching look.
The contrast of the vibrant Red Magic with the All Black model couldn’t be greater. This monochromatic, dark anniversary model, limited to 500 pieces, references the first All Black Big Bang of 2006. Defying traditional values of watchmaking like legibility, the All Black Big Bang made a big statement. Playing with “invisible visibility”, the stealthy allure is achieved with its matte and polished black ceramic details and black carbon-patterned dial.
Magic Gold is a shining example of Hublot’s exploration of advanced materials. A proprietary 18k gold alloy unveiled in 2011, Magic Gold was trumpeted as the world’s first scratch-resistant gold alloy. Combining the resilience of ceramic with the shine and lustre of gold (with a slightly greenish tint), Magic Gold lives up to its name.
Prices for the 20th-anniversary editions start at CHF 18,900 for the Titanium Ceramic model and top out at CHF 36,900 for the Magic Gold. In between, the All Black retails for CHF 22,900, the Red Magic for CHF 28,900 and the King Gold Ceramic for CHF 34,900. More information at hublot.com.
