Big Bang Unico Water Blue Sapphire: Hublot’s cool summer

A teal Hublot for the summer? If it were Amanda Priestley commenting on it, she might exclaim ‘pure avant-garde!’ – as in the film that made the fictional ‘Runway’ magazine director famous. Yet the Big Bang Unico Water Blue Sapphire is certainly not an obvious choice: it’s not just a watch to be worn only on long days on a boat or during elegant poolside cocktails. No, Hublot’s Big Bang Unico Water Blue Sapphire is a fresh watch, suitable for every season: not something to be locked away in a safe from September to June.

Proof of this is the fact that Hublot presented it during the last Watches and Wonders Geneva, branding it not as a seasonal piece but as a further, precious interpretation of the Big Bang collection to celebrate its 20th anniversary. An anniversary about which we have already written in the article about the Titanium Ceramic.

A UNIQUE COLOUR FOR THE BIG BANG UNICO

What, then, makes this watch special for the Nyon brand’s iconic collection? In our opinion, basically two things: firstly, the fact that it is a Big Bang, and secondly, its case, or rather, its colour and material. We are talking about the colour that Hublot calls Water Blue sapphire that we’ve already seen last year on one of the brand’s hyperwatches, the Big Bang MP-11 14-Day Power Reserve Water Blue Sapphire.

In that case, it was the MP family with a watch with an impressive two-week power reserve. Here, we fall into a less complex category – if it even makes sense to define a Big Bang Unico as such – but it is still characterised by a case behind which lies some of the most demanding materials research carried out by Hublot.

Because, in addition to its solid experience in coloured ceramic research and development, the brand also has a unique history of creating cases in sapphire, one of the most complex materials to synthesise and work with. A technical challenge which is already of the highest level with ‘pure’ sapphire, which becomes even more complex when it comes to coloured sapphire.

We have already reported in the past on how coloured sapphire is created, talking about the Big Bang Tourbillon Automatic Purple Sapphire. An interesting topic, to which we refer you in this article. What we are interested in, here, is telling you about the new Big Bang Unico Water Blue Sapphire through a few simple steps. To leave you with the pleasure of admiring it in pictures and, why not, perhaps, passing by a boutique to try it on.

HUBLOT-STYLE AESTHETICS AND MECHANICS

From an aesthetic and mechanical point of view, this is the Big Bang Unico as we know it. The difference with the others is obvious: it lies in the colour and material. The case is a sapphire monobloc, 44 mm in diameter by 14.5 mm thick, water-resistant to 5 bar. Yes to bathing in the sea, but it’s better to watch out when diving. The water-blue sapphire is also found on the bezel – with the classic six H-head screws – and on the back, which is transparent.

The layout of the skeleton dial is familiar, with alternating Arabic numerals, baton hour markers and a pair of semi-skeleton hands in the centre, all coated with tone-on-tone luminescence. At 3 o’clock and 9 o’clock are the usual counters of different sizes (the smaller continuous seconds counter, the larger 6-minute counter), also adorned with indexes of the same hue. The date ring, completely visible, runs around the edge of the dial and aligns with the current date in the window at 3 o’clock, inside the 60-minute counter.

The mechanics are also familiar, in fact, very familiar. Indeed, beating inside the sapphire case is the tried-and-tested automatic manufacture calibre HUB1280. Developed by Hublot on the basis of the HUB1240, it is a flyback chronograph calibre visible through the skeleton dial, the case back and, of course, partly through the sides of its translucent case. This integrated column-wheel automatic chronograph movement has 354 components and 43 jewels, operates at 28,800 vibrations per hour and has an excellent 72-hour power reserve. The most important finishes Hublot has reserved for its movement are the anthracite-coloured ruthenium plating of the mainplate, bridges and tungsten oscillating weight with circular satin finish.

THE UNIQUENESS OF THE BIG BANG UNICO WATER BLUE SAPPHIRE

For the strap, the classic structured transparent lined design was chosen. The water blue colour perfectly matches that of the case, which is not at all a trivial detail. Just as it is not trivial that this colour should resist light and wear over time and avoid fading. There are no other straps supplied, but through the patented One Click system it can be quickly replaced with one of the dozens available from Hublot. The buckle is a titanium deployant.

Having said that the public price of the Big Bang Unico Water Blue Sapphire is €143,000 and that it is produced in a limited edition of 50 pieces, a final remark must be made about the watch’s aesthetics, which are truly spot on. Indeed, thanks to its ‘layered’ structure, Hublot has managed to achieve an effect in which the entire timepiece appears to be the same shade, whether you look at the lugs, the bezel, the case body or anywhere else. The other functional elements, such as the screws, crown and chronograph pushers, seem to float inside the sapphire, creating a watch with enhanced features depending on the lighting conditions. Perhaps this is precisely where its versatility and ease of use across all seasons lies.

By Davide Passoni