5 OF THE BEST 2021 HUBLOT WATCHES FOR DISCERNING COLLECTORS

Hublot is the first brand to have dared to combine gold and rubber in the same watch, becoming a master of the “Art of Fusion”. The fusion of past and present in a futuristic watch. The fusion of traditional, modern and pioneering materials. The fusion between the craftsmanship of watchmaking and the power of an innovative design identity.

The fusion between conventional mechanisms and their unique construction. And finally, the fusion of crafts within the Manufacture, where the entire range of talents and skills work together to create watches that are second to none.

The Art of Fusion is expressed right through to the heart of the movement. Simple watches with innovative watchmaking concepts, Hublot has created a range of unique “in-house” movements. A unique design of the Unico automatic chronograph. An unparalleled power reserve of Meca-10, Tourbillon and MP-11 calibers. A revolutionary motor approach with 11 MP-05 barrels and 50-day power reserve. In its “Art of Fusion,” Hublot carries out a perfect symbiosis between functionality, architecture and design.

Looking towards the future, Hublot takes a new look at watchmaking by merging the innovation and tradition, the high-tech and expert craftsmanship and the machine precision and beauty of movement of its Manufacture. From the production of micro-components for movements to cases and dials, or from fundamental research to the development of innovative materials, watchmakers, physicists, chemists and engineers are united under the same roof, working in perfect synergy to create exceptional watches that endlessly push technical and aesthetic boundaries.

Here are 5 magnificent Hublot masterpieces that were released in 2021. Enjoy!

#5 BIG BANG UNICO BERLUTI ALUMINIO

Hublot and Berluti, 5 years of collaboration and a new limited edition run of 100 pieces: the two houses explore shades of grey in a unique creative exercise.

“This new Big Bang Unico Berluti Aluminio isn’t quite what people were expecting – so, of course, that’s why we made it! In an urban style, it reflects the smooth, satin tones of the concrete that adorns the greatest cities. Understated but technical, monochrome but packed with nuance, it explores some very minimalist creative ground that we are not used to travelling. A piece that many will find surprising!” - Ricardo Guadalupe, HUBLOT CEO

“This Big Bang Unico Berluti Aluminio is a new expression of our collaboration with Hublot. Working in monochrome is a very demanding exercise in patina, finish and play of light to give the watch its volume. Once again, the combination of our emblematic Venezia leather and Hublot’s watchmaking expertise brings about a unique, subtle and contemporary result.” - House of Berluti

Announced in 2016, the partnership between the famous men’s fashion house and the most disruptive of the watchmaking brands has unveiled a new interpretation of the Big Bang Unico. Together, they have fused fashion and watchmaking, leather and titanium, form and substance.

The new Big Bang Unico Berluti Aluminio leverages this shared know-how and provides an understated, elegant, monochrome and timeless piece. It is a Big Bang for true collectors and connoisseurs. This edition will be limited to 100 copies, as with every collaboration between Hublot and Berluti.

The emblematic patinated Venezia leather is at the heart of the polished titanium bezel as well as on the dial, where the indices and words “Swiss Made” are gauffered directly on the surface. The leather is held between two pieces of sapphire glass, whose cut reveals the gears of the Unico movement, a feat of technical prowess. Working with Berluti, a technique was developed to encapsulate natural leather hues and crystallize them in time; in this way, their beauty is rendered in an authentic and unchanging manner. As for the strap, it symbolizes the perfect fusion of the two worlds and it is available in two versions: one in burnished Aluminio Venezia leather; another in patinated Aluminio Venezia leather with the Scritto motif, exclusively for Japan. Aluminio is one of Berluti’s signature patinas. It perfectly transcribes the light onto the different tones of the Venezia leather.

For this model, Hublot took responsibility for the new, two-part bezel design. With the help of a sticky, rigid resin, the first piece of the bezel—in leather, about 1 mm thick—is inserted onto the second piece, in grey titanium, and then screwed onto the case of the watch. This will allow the bezel to be patinated time, just like the strap.

To bring the patinated Aluminio Venezia leather into harmony with its mechanical ensemble, the Hublot Manufacture chose from the vast palette of materials at its disposal: titanium for the 44-mm case and its deployant clasp, resin for the central horn, tungsten for the oscillating weight, and satin-finished rhodium for the hands. Building on more than 40 years of ground-breaking designs, Hublot masters the full spectrum of watchmaking materials and was thus able to create a Big Bang that was perfectly tuned to the nuances of the patinated Berluti leather.

The Big Bang Unico Berluti Aluminio also reveals part of its beating heart. The gears of the Unico movement, an authentic manufacture self-winding Flyback chronograph with three full days of power reserve, can be admired thanks to the cut of the two pieces of sapphire glass that hold the leather on the dial-side. A rare and contemporary piece, the Big Bang Unico Berluti Aluminio will be delivered in a special case with a travel pouch, and a shoehorn key ring with the Berluti logo.

#4 SPIRIT OF BIG BANG GOLD CRYSTAL

Gold crystal: alchemist Hublot creates magic

"Fusing and creating new materials is nothing new for Hublot: it is part of the brand's very essence. But now, the Manufacture has entered a new universe – the transmutation of metals – with its metallurgy laboratory and R&D department reproducing the rarest form of gold on earth: the crystallised native gold known as gold crystal. With its double limited edition Spirit of Big Bang Cristal d’Or available in 39 and 42 mm, Hublot is not only transmuting gold, it is also transforming the DNA of its watchmaking signature – the Big Bang – into the tonneau shape of its Spirit of Big Bang. An alchemy of materials and spirit.” - Ricardo Guadalupe, Hublot CEO

It is often said that what Nature creates cannot be reproduced, as natural processes require both time and a complexity which are beyond the realms of human endeavour. Once again, Hublot has made the impossible possible by transmuting gold into its rarest and most exclusive form: gold crystal. This form of gold is unique, since it is impossible to reproduce two identical gold crystals. Beyond the fascination that gold has exerted on man since the dawn of time, it embodies everything that makes Hublot so distinctive: materials, minerals, metals; their fusion and their transformation into new forms of expression, unique and quite unexpected. An alchemy expressed both in the transmutation of the raw material and in the chemistry created by the spirit of the watch itself. This is the Spirit of Big Bang Gold Crystal.

The mysteries of gold crystal

Hublot invites you into the heart of a unique form of expertise, into the mysteries of the most precious and fascinating metal, as well as one of the oldest, born as the universe was created during the Big Bang, 13.8 billion years ago.

The natural crystallisation of gold dates back tens of millions of years, to the time when the mountain ranges were formed. It was in these crevices in the earth that jets of pressurised heated water extracted the gold, redepositing it within seams in the rocks. As the rocks eroded, these seams were carried away by rain and water and deposited in the beds of rivers, creating nuggets of gold. On rare occasions, the right natural conditions would allow the gold to remain in its natural state: gold crystals, the rarest form of gold on earth.

A true alchemist for our times, Hublot has now mastered a unique technique allowing natural crystallisation to be reproduced almost exactly. By heating the purest 24-carat gold to its melting point of 1064.18 degrees Celsius, its atoms are vaporised into a gaseous mixture before interlocking as the temperature is lowered, forming an open angular structure. Thousands of small crystals join together to create an architecture which is random, unique, and impossible to reproduce. The most perfect of these crystals are then carefully selected, with no more than 20% of the crystals produced making the grade.

A gold and lacquered dial

The expert hands of the master dial-maker apply the gold crystals to a black dial covered with a fine layer of transparent lacquer; the manufacturing process took this craftsman a year to research and develop, and the application must be undertaken in a controlled atmosphere to ensure no air bubbles can form on the surface. It takes around twenty layers of lacquer to encapsulate the gold crystals, and the dial is then polished to render the lacquer invisible, and perfectly smooth and uniform.

Spirit of Big Bang Gold Crystal

The Spirit of Big Bang is Hublot's tonneau-shaped watch, and it adopts all of the design codes of the iconic Big Bang: the six H-shaped screws on the bezel, the lugs either side of the case, the overmoulded rubber screw-down crown decorated with the iconic H, the sandwich type construction. To provide a perfect contrast with the gold of the crystals, the Spirit of Big Bang Cristal d’Or's case is covered in black ceramic and paired with a black alligator strap stitched onto rubber. Available in 39 and 42 mm, it will display the time for 50 hours without any winding of its Caliber HUB1710 automatic mechanical movement.

When Hublot gold sets the tone and rewrites the rules, the result is pure alchemy.

#3 BIG BANG ONE CLICK 33MM-PRECIOUS

PERSONALISATION: TWO VERSIONS, FOURTEEN POSSIBILITIES

To open up happier horizons, Hublot is flying the colours of the better days to come with the Big Bang One Click 33mm, available in stainless steel or in King Gold with interchangeable straps. Its case has been refined to wrap itself around slender wrists and can change appearance in no time at all to suit your mood.

" For almost 10 years, the brand has been one of the only ones to use natural rubber to make watch straps that are recognised by enthusiasts as the Hublot signature style. The soft and supple touch of this unexpected material in Haute Horlogerie is an asset in addition to the range of colours that appeals to fans of precision and elegance." - Ricardo Guadalupe, CEO of HUBLOT

In evening dress or understated black, nautical style or immaculate white, smart in pink or sky blue, wide-ranging in red, royal blue, green or orange, rubber rubs shoulders with the most prized of gems no matter the style of the Big Bang One Click 33mm. In the pop version, the brilliant calfskin sparkles in electric blue, raspberry pink or terracotta orange. Like a silhouette that we take on for ourselves, the precious stands alongside the simplicity or the gloss of the natural materials. There are more diamonds, and their aura illuminates the bezel. A way of wearing Haute Joaillerie nonchalantly, like another accessory.

The feminine and versatile Big Bang One Click 33mm adopts the patented “One Click” fastening system, allowing the watch to take on an alternative appearance in just a click. Dressed in the codes of its alter ego, the emblematic Big Bang Unico, and its big sister launched in 2016 as a 39-mm model without chronograph, it combines screws, a crown, indices, stylised numerals and a bezel set with 36 diamonds, in a masculine-feminine model of Haute Horlogerie. A dial in black or white. The case, in stainless steel or King Gold, houses the HUB1120 self-winding movement with the date at 3 o’clock, and 28,800 vibrations per hour beat in its heart over 40 consecutive hours. A mechanical gem with a certain character.

#2 OUTSTANDING CLASSIC FUSION ORLINSKI

Richard Orlinski’s now emblematic edges, facets and bevels have been artistically sculpting Hublot watches since 2017, when he and the Swiss watchmaker presented their first artwork to be worn on the wrist. Since then, no material shaped by Hublot, nor any component of the watches, has seemed able to resist Orlinski’s masterful faceting. Not even ceramic, not even a dial! The Classic Fusion Orlinski 40mm now comes in a monochrome mode in two editions entirely clad in ceramic, with the exception of the strap and the crown. In terms of colorimetry, the flashy blue and gloss black are reminiscent of the colour codes used in the artist’s XXL bestiary.

When art and technology fuse to shape time

The material chosen for these two editions is ceramic; a material of choice for Hublot ever since the launch of its iconic Big Bang collection in 2005. Since then, its R&D and Metallurgy departments have invented and patented several varieties of ceramic including a world first in 2018 with bright red ceramic, and Magic Gold, the only scratch-resistant 18K gold alloy to fuse 24K gold with boron carbide.

Hublot is unquestionably the master of materials, and of fusion, an art that the Manufacture is constantly perfecting. For the first time, faceted ceramic dresses the whole watch, including its dial. The result is a bevelled architecture that gives life to the ceramic in origami style.

If a crease gives clothing a certain effect, in this case it sets the tone for your wrists. These watches are like artworks to be worn, and ones that have naturally taken on the three-dimensional folds of Richard Orlinski’s sculptures. A deliberate emphasis, bright colours, encapsulated in two editions.

In terms of size, these two monochrome models keep the 40 mm diameter proportions of their alter ego, and beat to the rhythm of an automatic movement with a 42-hour power reserve and are worn on a soft rubber strap.

"I’m delighted to unveil two new versions of the Classic Fusion Orlinski. These two monochrome editions are perfectly in line with the DNA of the fusion of our two worlds, that of the House of Hublot, which shapes precious materials and dreams up extraordinary products, and mine, a world of pop and colour." - Richard Orlinski, ARTIST

#1 BIG BANG MP-11 MAGIC GOLD & BLUE SAPPHIRE:

TWO NEW CUTTING-EDGE CASES FOR A UNIQUE ENGINE-INSPIRED MOVEMENT

Hublot reasserts its unrivalled expertise in cutting-edge materials by housing its MP-11 manufacture calibre in two new exclusive cases, showcasing its scratch-resistant Magic Gold alloy and the transparency of its high-tech synthesis technology Blue Sapphire. The brand is offering enthusiasts two new versions of its Big Bang MP-11 watch, an instrument with a spectacular look which reveals its seven in-line barrels – which guarantee an unrivalled power reserve of 14 days – through the open dial.

"By marrying its famous MP-11 manufacture movement, characterised by its atypical and highly visual construction, with two new materials developed by our engineers – Magic Gold and Blue Sapphire –, Hublot once again brilliantly illustrates its "Art of Fusion". The art of being avant-garde, different and unique." - Ricardo Guadalupe, HUBLOT CEO

The master of fusion, Hublot has always stood out by seeking to achieve perfect alliances between movements and cases, between the mechanical hearts of its watches and their settings on the wrist. In the visionary spirit of the brand, the unorthodox concept of the MP-11 calibre, developed and manufactured entirely in Hublot’s workshops, must therefore forge an alliance with brand new cases distinguished by their unique design and innovative materials. This challenge has already been brilliantly met in the Big Bang MP-11 in ultra-light 3D carbon, using King Gold alloy paired with a 3D carbon bezel, in transparent sapphire, in high-tech Red Magic ceramic and most recently in green SAXEM, which is a new composite rivalling the most beautiful emeralds in colour and matching diamonds in its hardness. Today, Hublot's story of the MP-11 calibre continues with the unveiling of two new models that are sure to make their mark.

The Big Bang MP-11 14-day power reserve Magic Gold, available as a limited edition of just 50 pieces, reinterprets the ultra-technical and contemporary design of the Big Bang case in the world's first ever version of scratch-resistant 18-carat gold, an alloy invented and patented by Hublot. To achieve this unprecedented resistance in the traditional world of precious metals, the brand's engineers have combined pure gold with boron carbide, an extremely hard high-tech ceramic. The exclusive colour of the Magic Gold case is enhanced on the bezel of the watch, by the contrast with the six H-shaped black-coated titanium screws. The marriage of an 18-carat gold case and a black rubber strap serves as a reminder that Hublot was the first brand, in 1980, to boldly combine these two materials on the same watch, at a time when these two materials were considered to be incompatible!

Playing on transparency, the Big Bang MP-11 14-day power reserve Blue Sapphire, also released as a limited edition of 50 pieces, takes its radiance and inimitable colour from one of the manufactured sapphires that Hublot has developed in house. With unique knowledge and complete mastery of the industrialisation process, Hublot is able to offer sapphire in a range of innovative colours (transparent, black, blue, red, yellow and orange). The extreme hardness of the sapphire requires specific machining methods – a further challenge on this watch due to the profile of the middle and the bezel to accommodate the shape of the cylindrical barrels. The lined and structured blue rubber strap echoes the innovative colour of the sapphire case.

Seven in-line barrels for a 14-day power reserve

Magic Gold and Blue Sapphire; the two new Big Bang MP-11 models offer exclusive staging of the calibre HUB9011 manual-winding skeletonised movement, one of the jewels of the 100% Hublot collection. To achieve an exceptional power reserve of two weeks, the brand has developed an original movement architecture integrating seven series-coupled barrels. The power reserve appears directly on a cylinder located to the left of the seven barrels, opposite the ‘DAY POWER RESERVE’ indication in blue or gold on the anti-reflective sapphire crystal. By adopting the shape of barrels, the sapphire crystal creates a magnifying effect on this important indication.

To enable energy to be transmitted between the horizontal barrel arbor and the vertical gears controlling the hour and minute display at 12 o'clock, the engineers made use of a system rarely employed in watchmaking: a 90-degree helical worm gear. To create an aesthetic balance with this helical gear, which is visible at 10 o'clock, the balance was moved on the dial side in a symmetrical position at two o'clock. Composed of 270 pieces, giving a very reasonable thickness of 10.92 mm, the HUB9011 calibre also stands out due to its patented index-assembly system, its black platinum bridges and its silicon escapement combining traditional and innovative elements. The two new Big Bang MP-11 Magic Gold and Blue Sapphire movements are wound manually using the large fluted crown with worm screw type relief that echoes the helical gear, or an electric Torx stylus inspired by the world of motor racing.

Hublot

Anchored in the present and always evolving, at the forefront of new advances in technology and fundamental research into new materials, Hublot remains committed to traditional expertise, creating timepieces which bear the mark of the most talented master watchmakers. In this way, the brand represents the Art of Fusion between watchmaking culture and cutting-edge technical developments, between the past and the future… as, in the words of Hublot's Chairman Jean-Claude Biver and Hublot’s CEO Ricardo Guadalupe, "we are not breaking with the past, on the contrary we are paying homage to it by connecting it to the future".

Discover the Hublot collections: www.hublot.com