BY ERIK SLAVEN
Hublot introduced a proper sports watch variant of its popular Big Bang in 2020 with an integrated bracelet in several materials, including titanium, 18k gold and ceramic. This new Big Bang Integral joined the Classic Fusion in Hublot’s integrated sports watch portfolio. There are now four new colorways in ceramic at Watches & Wonders, albeit limited editions. Partially skeletonized dials maintain the bright color of the case and bracelet, while the in-house movement displays a column wheel on the dial side. These new models are both fun and sophisticated, and bring a modern touch to the luxury sports chronographs.
The case is well sized at 42mm in diameter and 13.45mm thick, and the integrated design will help it wear a bit smaller. The case and integrated bracelets are ceramic (with titanium deployant buckles) with four color options – blue indigo, sky blue, sand beige and jungle green. The sand beige version is the most subdued, but all offer a fresh departure from the hues of steel, gold or titanium. The familiar round bezel with six H screws, flat pushers at 2 and 4 o’clock and so on are all here, so nothing has changed with the overall Big Bang aesthetic. The punchy colors, however, really change the personalities. While many dial elements share the color of their respective case/bracelet, only the sand beige and green models carry this to the hands. The other two have matte grey hands. The exposed movement is also a darker shade of grey on the former two, apparently to help the colored hands contrast against the metal plates. It’s a curious lack of consistency, but the variances are ultimately subtle. There are sapphire crystals front and back, and water resistance is rated at 100 meters.
These are bicompax chronographs with a 60-minute counter at 3 o’clock and small seconds at 9 o’clock. An open-worked date wheel circles the perimeter and various gears are exposed, along with the chronograph column wheel at 6 o’clock. All indices and the open-worked hour and minute hands have Super-LumiNova inserts, and the chronograph seconds hand has a Hublot counterweight. The clear date window is part of the 3 o’clock sub-dial, which is otherwise translucent, while the small seconds sub-dial is entirely open.
The movement is Hublot’s in-house caliber HUB1280 Unico automatic, which debuted in 2018. It’s an integrated flyback chronograph with 43 jewels, a 72-hour power reserve and beat rate of 4Hz. The pusher at 2 o’clock starts and can stop the timer, but the 4 o’clock pusher can instantly stop, reset and restart the timer via the flyback feature.
The new Hublot Big Bang Integral Ceramic watches retail for EUR 23,800 and are limited to 250 pieces each. That’s about on par with the black ceramic model that launched a couple of years ago. Visit Hublot here.
