Hublot: Winning Personality
Hublot builds on its sporty appeal with a growing list of technical capabilities that includes making its own chronographs.
While club sports like tennis and golf have long been the preferred playgrounds of luxury watch sponsorships, Hublot has taken a much broader approach to endorsements, opting instead for the popular and exciting setting of the soccer field, basketball court and race track. The Swiss watchmaker’s current lineup of partnerships includes Ferrari, soccer legend Pelè, the L.A. Lakers, the Miami Heat and its star Dwyane Wade.
This year, Hublot honors former player and current Chelsea F.C. manager Josè Mourinho with the King Power Special One.
A few things immediately grab your attention when seeing this striking blue timepiece. First and foremost is its formidable size ó a statement-making 48mm on the wrist. Next is its richly textured, blue carbon-fiber bezel. Instead of a conventional application or surface treatment, it’s the result of an advanced technical process in which the color is injected directly into the fibers.
Residing in the watch’s titanium case is an automatic-winding UNICO flyback chronograph movement. Made by Hublot, this complex caliber goes a step further than conventional chronographs with its ability to time consecutive events with the press of a single button, ideal for timing conditioning sprints and drills on the practice field.
Victory Lap
Hublot and Ferrari have been partners on the racetrack for almost two years. During that time, the two companies collaborated on a number of innovative and sporty luxury timepieces.
One of the latest chapters in the Hublot-Ferrari alliance is the Big Bang Ferrari Carbon Red Magic. It provides a vivid showcase for Hublot’s in-house production of carbon fiber cases. Each one is made by: stacking sheets of carbon fiber material, pressing them into molds, and then placing them in extremely hot ovens. This process results in a bubble-free, and therefore stronger, carbon-fiber material from which to machine the Big Bang case.
The movement that powers this timepiece is another designed and manufactured entirely by Hublot just outside Geneva. Its flyback chronograph function is perfect for timing laps, making it an essential part of the competitive driver’s kit.
As its number of in-house movements grows, it’s only fitting that Hublot would pair one of its flyback chronographs with the brand’s iconic Big Bang model. The Big Bang UNICO Titanium Ceramic features a robust 45.5mm case with a black ceramic bezel secured by the brandís familiar H-shaped screws. In a departure from all other Big Bangs since the line’s 2005 introduction, this model features round pushers that echo the look of automobile pistons. It also boasts Hublot’s intuitive strap-changing system, which doesn’t require any tools.
For anyone who has followed watches long enough, Hublot is undeniably one of the industry’s greatest success stories. When it started, it dared to pair its luxury watches with rubber straps. Now, the firm is one of the leading sport-luxury watchmakers, with a long list of celebrity and sports ambassadors, as well as a growing list of in-house capabilities and complications.