CLASSIC FUSION ORIGINAL
42 YEARS OF AUDACITY
Hublot brings back the watch that shook up conventions in 1980. Both refined and sporty, this precious gold case strapped on a simple rubber strap, unthinkable at the time, sent huge shock waves through the world of fine watchmaking.
By winning over an audience of connoisseurs who were searching for different watch products, so began a tireless visionary momentum, impelled by audacity. This vision inspires the Maison in everything it does, including new product development, designs and partnerships. The Classic Fusion Original celebrates this youthful maturity with timeless simplicity.
Echoes of Carlo Crocco’s original design are recognizable in the rubber strap, the purity of the polished black lacquered dial that is only distracted by time, embodied by the facetted hands; the yellow gold and the Maison’s hallmark signature. At first sight, seemingly similar to the original, the logo has become more modern and contemporary over time. A past tense conjugated in the present. Today, the Classic Fusion Original is available in yellow gold, titanium and ceramic; the cases are available in 42, 38 and 33mm.
SAXEM, ACT II: THE BIG BANG TOURBILLON AUTOMATIC
Hublot continues its exploration of SAXEM – a material often used in satellites and some lasers – allowing the Manufacture to obtain unprecedented translucent colours, of which neon yellow.
A first for Hublot and for watchmaking.
SAXEM stands for “Sapphire Aluminium oXide and rare Earth Mineral”. It is an alloy of aluminium oxide, the basic component of sapphire, with rare earth elements like thulium and holmium as well as chromium. The resulting material is ultra-resistant and endowed with a brilliance that is greater than that of sapphire. The absence of tension within the material ensures greater stability in terms of shaping, whereas the cubic crystalline structure guarantees the same shade and intensity of colour, regardless of the angle from which the case is viewed. The fully polished neon yellow SAXEM offers a bold contrast with the bezel’s six H-shaped screws and with the crown, all in polished and micro-blasted titanium.
In terms of movement, the Big Bang Tourbillon Automatic Yellow Neon SAXEM is powered by the HUB6035 self-winding Manufacture calibre.
Hublot has chosen the most difficult technical route, self-winding using a micro-rotor, the only way to avoid concealing the back of the movement as a conventional rotor would have done. On top of that, the Manufacture has chosen to skeletonise the entire calibre. This is a stratospheric feat of watchmaking which pushes open worked materials to the limits of their functional resistance, almost nothing remains that would conceal the calibre.
A limited edition of 50 pieces, comes with a neon yellow textured rubber strap, tailor-made for this watch, complete with a titanium deploying buckle and equipped with the One Click system so that it can be changed immediately with no need for tools.
THE BIG BANG UNICO SORAI TIME FOR RHINOS
Hublot has been supporting SORAI – Save Our Rhinos Africa India –since 2019. An organisation founded by Hublot ambassador and former international cricket star Kevin Pietersen.
His work helps keep rhinos threatened with extinction safe from poachers. As with the two previous limited editions, part of the proceeds from the sale of the 100 Big Bang Unico SORAI will be donated to the organisation. The colours chosen for the third limited edition are those of sunset, recalling the heightened danger faced by rhinos as night falls. The sun is a symbol of hope, of a new dawn.
Since 2018, SORAI has supported projects to protect endangered animals, to identify new technologies to combat poaching (thermal cameras, GPS tracking of animals) and raise awareness of the need to protect these endangered species.
In line with its motto, “BE THE CHANGE”, SORAI is pushing change and working to prevent poaching and hunting.
Proceeds from the sale of the Big Bang Unico SORAI will go directly to projects supported by SORAI to equip helicopters with cameras, raise awareness in schools about the consequences of poaching and to provide backup to rangers on the ground. These strategies are implemented where the need is biggest and most pressing: South Africa.
South Africa is home to more than 80% of the world’s total population of rhinos, with the majority of poaching taking place in Kruger National Park, as it has the largest population of wild white rhinos left on earth.
RAINBOW EDITIONS: THE BIG BANG IS SEEING DOUBLE
For this first watchmaking event of 2023, the Manufacture has drawn inspiration from its 2022 best-seller, sprinkled with a touch of Haute Joaillerie folly in creating a pair of non-identical twin watches that invite them to play and revel in the art of bejewelled case setting. Although there are two new Big Bang models, we can enjoy a fun game of “Spot The Difference”, there are seven in all!
No need to be a gem expert to appreciate this: both pieces are Rainbow models, they are adorned with a river of translucent gemstones in a perfect gradation of colours, seamlessly running through all the shades of the rainbow.
The two pieces are not simply stone-set, but fully paved from the case to the bezel to the bracelet. Precious stones take their place alongside the most stunning minerals: ruby, amethyst, blue topaz, tsavorite, as well as a whole spectrum of sapphires – pink, orange, blue and yellow. Each radiant gemstone with its own unique hue, the subtle nuances of which have been paired, one by one, thanks to the expert eyes and hands of the master stone-setter. There are 174 gemstones in total for the Big Bang Integrated and 176 gemstones for the Time Only, and the bracelet for each piece features 768 and 748 set gemstones respectively.
They both cut from the same metal or alloy: King Gold, so dear to Hublot, and mastered solely by its own Manufacture. This alloy offers a warmer gold colour than traditional 18K 5N gold. Containing platinum, it lends itself perfectly to all the polishing and satin-finishing operations used to full effect on these two variations, alternating flat satin-finished surfaces and polished chamfers whose brilliance sparkles in harmony with each of the gemstones set on the piece.
The two pieces share the same completely black dial: main plate, flange and date window. These elements are cloaked in an intense black which offers the perfect monochrome backdrop to showcase the full radiance of the rainbow setting.
Two large skeleton hands and a gold crown over-moulded with black rubber form two “ears” at either side at 3 o’clock and 9 o’clock. The case and bracelet are perfectly united: seamless in style, material and colour all while offering complete comfort to the wearer.
Each piece is powered by its own movement. The first is a chronograph, equipped with the Unico Manufacture self-winding movement – the original movement from the Hublot Manufacture – a skeleton calibre offering a power reserve of three full days. This prestigious mechanism beats within a large 42-mm diameter case. The second piece is concentrated within a 40-mm diameter case – the first time this diameter has been available on the Big Bang since it was unveiled in 2022 – which gives it a more compact, edgy character.
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