There's a constant need for reinvention. I mean, how else are you gonna stay relevant in a world that changes on a dime? Evolution, adaptation... these are required traits for survivability. Then, there's Hublot, that redesigns simply just to shake up the status quo.
We've mentioned that when Hublot's signature line, the Big Bang, entered the market in 2005, not many knew what to make of it. Taking cues from the original 1980 gold and rubber fusion watch, like its namesake, the Big Bang model arrived bigger and... bangier? Okay, it was excessive; a maximalist's dream. Then, in 2010, Hublot proved that it can balance out its flash with technicality, thanks to its first in-house automatic flyback chronograph, the Unico.
And then, Hublot combines the two and we are blessed with the Big Bang Unico. Working off the Big Bang Unico, the Maison introduced the Big Bang Reloaded. Playing with the colour and contrast to bring the Unico calibre to fore. This is how your attention journeys with your eyes are first drawn to the calibre by the colour-highlighted wheel at 6 o'clock and the dual oscillating clutch at 8 o'clock.
Then your peepers will traipse over to the redesigned minutes counter at 3 o'clock. While other timepieces have their date window at 3, for the Big Bang Reloaded, the date finds new home between 4 and 5 o'clock. Curious, you turn over to see an openworked rotor with a cut-out H; the balance; the barrel and train.
Let's talk about the improved Unico calibre that now features five new patented features: the backlash-compensating oscillating clutch; an anti-shaking chronograph hand system; a "zero friction" ratchet wheel blocker; a watch rate fine-adjustment system; and a shock-resistant time-setting. Don't quote us on this but we think that the case is now a 44mm only because it needed to contain all these features but it's probably just the Big Bang Reloaded aesthetic.
Bigger, sportier, and bolder, each watch comes with two wristbands: one in fabric-inspired rubber with H-pattern stitching and the other in black rubber. Both straps come with a folding clasp and patented One Click system.
The core range for the Big Bang Reloaded comes in five variants: All Black; Blue Ceramic; Green Ceramic; Titanium Ceramic, and Magic Gold. But the real game lies in the limited editions.
Sure, Usain Bolt has collaboration watches with Hublot before but this latest one, might be his most personal yet. You can find slivers of Hublot's ambassador and still-fastest man in the world in the watch design. The numerals between 6 and 8 o'clock read 6-5-8; you'd think someone fell asleep when they put the watch together but if you look at it upside-down, it reads 9-5-8... 9.58 seconds, his unbroken 100m world record set in 2009. You'll also find the lightning bolt-shaped chronograph second hand; "Anything is Possible, Don't Think Limits." is etched on the outside of a 18K yellow gold bezel. On the caseback, you'll find—compressed within the sapphire—a lightning bolt that has the actual soil from Bolt's childhood training ground .The green and yellow motif echoes his homeland of Jamaica.
The Big Bang Reloaded Usain Bolt timepiece is limited to 200 pieces worldwide.
The Big Bang Reloaded Kylian Mbappé is the first limited edition with football icon and Hublot Ambassador. It comes in 44mm polished white ceramic and 18K King Gold. At 6 o'clock, his mantra “Trust Yourself” is engraved on the bezel and a King Gold-toned number 10 that is his squad number.
The case combines polished 18K King Gold and microblasted white ceramic. The skeletonised dial is matte anthracite ruthenium-plated with white accent, giving the chronograph a modern look. Two interchangeable One Click wristbands—a King-gold-toned fabric Velcro strap and a black-and-white rubber strap with the KM logo—come with the timepiece.
The Big Bang Reloaded Kylian Mbappé is limited to 200 pieces worldwide.
