ABSOLUTE TRANSPARENCY
With this diaphanous limited edition unveiled during Watches and Wonders 2021, and through its pure material mastery, the manufacture invites us to delight in a visually-stunning show.
In 2016, Hublot showcased its first-ever watch adorned with a sapphire case, the Big Bang Unico Sapphire. At the time, this creation was, as such and, quite rightly so, considered as a real technical feat; the hardness of this material is just slightly less than that of diamond. This year, the watchmaker from Nyon pushes back the limits of the possible and reveals an ultimate variation under the guise of the Big Bang Integral Tourbillon Full Sapphire. In addition to its 43 mm-diameter, 15.25 mm-thick case, crafted using 37 components including five sapphire ones, the three caliber bridges are fashioned in this translucent material. And, the result? Its selfwinding movement offers us an incomparable visual experience. Light reigns everywhere supreme. The workings, the micro-rotor set at 12 o’clock and the regulating device at 6 o’clock are entirely center staged. The hour and minute hands hover over indexes coated, like the hands, with Super-LumiNova® to ensure perfect readability.
Yet, the performance also continues engineering side. The manufacture’s skeletonized HUB6025 caliber delivers a generous power reserve of 72 hours.
The crowning glory of this spectacular scenography is that, all the links on the incredibly flexible bracelet, attached by a titanium folding clasp, are also sculpted in this translucent material. As for metal, its presence is totally played down. Bracelet and case are but one! With this watch, available in a limited series of just 30 pieces, transparency becomes pure art.
Price: CHF400,000 www.hublot.com
By Dan Diaconu