BY JOVAN K
Hublot loves to divide opinions, but if there is one arena where the brand commands absolute, undeniable respect, its mastery of sapphire crystal. Machining an entirely transparent watch case is a notoriously brutal process that leaves zero room for error, yet Hublot treats the material like playground clay. They are showing off that technical muscle once again with the new Big Bang Sapphire Sky Blue, a highly exclusive, summery take on their industrial Meca-10 movement.
When the Meca-10 architecture first launched back in 2016, it was designed to upend traditional watchmaking by pulling layout cues from childhood Meccano construction sets. Instead of hiding the mechanics behind a dial, Hublot built the watch entirely around the movement, turning gears, bridges, and springs into the primary visual architecture. This new model takes that hyper-mechanical layout and wraps it in a shell that feels much lighter and more playful than the usual titanium, ceramic, or gold versions.
The case measures 44mm in diameter and is constructed from fully polished sapphire crystal. The matching sapphire bezel is clamped down by Hublot’s signature six H-shaped titanium screws, creating a completely see-through sandwich that lets light flood the dial from every angle. With a sapphire front crystal, sapphire caseback, and a matte sky blue skeletonized dial, you can essentially look through the watch from across the room.
Despite its ethereal looks, the case is surprisingly tough, offering a standard 50m water resistance rating. It also features Hublot’s handy One-Click system, allowing you to pop the included sky blue structured rubber strap off and swap it for another color in seconds without having to dig around with a spring bar tool.
The real magic happens when you look into the gear train. Powering the watch is the in-house manual winding Calibre HUB1201. Composed of 223 components and 24 jewels, this skeletonized monster operates at 21,600 vibrations per hour (3Hz). Because it isn’t wasting energy fighting a high beat rate, and thanks to two massive mainspring barrels linked in parallel, the movement drops an incredible 10-day power reserve on the table.
To track all that power, Hublot uses an unconventional rack and pinion system. As you wind the crown, sliding racks glide back and forth along a horizontal axis between 9 o’clock and 3 o’clock. This drives a dual power reserve indicator on the dial, giving you a highly interactive, mechanical readout of exactly how many days of juice you have left before you need to turn the crown again. The movement bridges are finished in a matte, sky blue hue that matches the strap, tying the whole summer theme together.
Hublot is clearly confident in how well their team puts these high-tech sapphire watches together. The Big Bang Sapphire Sky Blue comes backed by their recently upgraded 5+5 warranty program. If you buy one of these new models in 2026, you get a 5-year warranty out of the box, with the option to tack on an additional 5 years via the Hublotista registration program, guaranteeing 10 years of total coverage.
Unsurprisingly, this level of material science does not come cheap. The Big Bang Sapphire Sky Blue 44mm 424.JX.5120.RX is limited to 100 pieces worldwide and carries a heavy-hitting retail price of USD 84,300/ EUR 82,70/CHF 70,000. It is available immediately through select Hublot boutiques and online.
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