How The Hublot Big Bang Became a Luxury Watch Legend
The newest version has a a color-changing dial a perpetual calendar with an “immaculately precise” moon phase, and a second GMT-style time zone.
Hublot, founded in Switzerland exactly 40 years ago, has grown into one of the world’s most recognizable luxury watch brands, as much a symbol of wealth and achievement as it is of highly innovative watchmaking.
Early on the brand, part of the LVMH portfolio since 2008, established its Art of Fusion ethos, merging traditional watchmaking techniques with new materials, such as brightly-colored ceramics and scratchproof gold, and revolutionizing the world of luxury watch design in the process.
Over the years it has expanded horological horizons through partnerships with the likes of Ferrari, Formula One, international style icon Lapo Elkann, artist Shepard Fairey, and various other creatives and celebrities. And in 2018 it took its first step into the world of hybrid watches, with a connected version of the Big Bang, its best-known model which was introduced in 2005.
Now with the debut of the Big Bang e, Hublot is marking the further evolution of the Art of Fusion—this one between “tradition and innovation, cutting edge materials and the latest digital technology.”
The first edition of the Big Bang e will be produced in two different versions: one in titanium and one in black ceramic, priced at $5,200 and $5,800 respectively. Adorning them are a series of eight dials developed as part of the #HublotLovesArt initiative, designed by French artist Marc Ferrero, creator of the Storytelling-movement. Every three hours the dial changes color, displaying a sequence of all eight dials over a 24-hour period, while every full hour is marked with the appearance of an animation that lasts five seconds.
“Electronic watches were created in Switzerland using quartz in the 1970s,” notes Hublot CEO Ricardo Guadalupe. “Fifty years later, we are continuing in the same innovative vein by producing a second smartwatch which boasts an extremely high level of technological sophistication, whilst embodying all the aesthetic values, technical features and excellence that have ensured the reputation of our Big Bang collection. Evermore faithful to our ‘Art of Fusion’ motto, we wanted to unite Hublot’s highly advanced technical materials with the very latest innovations from today’s digital world.”
The Big Bang e is sized at 42 mm, while the hour numerals are metallized underneath a scratchproof sapphire crystal, covered with an AMOLED high definition touchscreen. A rotary crown with integrated pusher is used to activate the controls for its electronic module, mimicking a mechanical Big Bang timepiece, while its smartwatch features are powered by Wear OS by Google.
In addition to a “Time Only” analog function, the Big Bang e features “exclusive interpretations of traditional watch complications,” such as a perpetual calendar with an “immaculately precise” moon phase, and a second GMT-style time zone. Because the discerning gentlemen who will wear this avant-garde timepiece are surely going places.
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