Worn & Wound
Watches & Wonders: A Quick Rundown of the New Hublot Big Bangs
Hublot has never trafficked in subtlety. The Big Bang chronograph first made its presence known with a 44mm size, hefty ceramic bezel with contrasting screws, and a rare combination of rose gold and rubber, which contrasted different textures with clashing case finishes. So what if it had an ETA movement-which, at the time, seemed more plebeian than the in-house movements of rival luxury chronographs? In that maximalist, McBling era, the stance and the presence were all that mattered. Hublot has only taken its flagship model to more audacious heights. At this year’s Watches & Wonders Geneva, the Big Bang Reloaded enters the collection, following the 20-year anniversary of the Big Bang, by combining the intricate case with Hublot’s in-house chronograph movement, the Unico calibre, bringing together all the things that Big Bang enthusiasts love. The Reloaded exemplifies Hublot’s adherence to high-tech materials: available in titanium, scratch-resistant 18-karat “Magic Gold,” and three options of ceramic: black, blue, and dark green. The strap, still in textured rubber, matches the case colors. Hublot introduced its Unico calibre in 2010, and now the HUB 1280 UNICO makes an appearance from behind a skeletonized and multi-layered dial: redesigned to match the stencil-style numbers, a date window at between 4 and 5 o’clock, and horizontally-placed chronograph registers. It’s an automatic flyback chronograph, with 43 jewels and a power reserve of 72 hour...
