At this year’s edition of LVMH Watch Week, which took place from January 19-21, Hublot quite literally landed with a big bang. Unveiling seven masterful timepieces, from the Classic Fusion in a lush sage green to Novak Djokovic’s Big Bang Tourbillon GOAT Edition, the new Big Bang Original Unico made a surefire mark on the horological world.
This watch, with its ingenious updates and quintessential mainstays, celebrates the 20th anniversary of the brand’s emblematic Big Bang collection by offering a glorious collision of the range’s original design ethos and modern technological advancements – the kind that make a lot of noise amongst horlogerie circles.
First up? Hublot’s in-house Unico chronograph caliber for movement. Renowned for its five patented innovations (a column wheel, a dual-clutch architecture, a layered construction, an optimised gear train and a skeletonised tungsten rotor open-worked in the shape of an H) this watch proves to itself be a fantastic engineering feat of 100 per cent manufacture power.
It also boasts a 43mm case and sapphire crystal caseback revealing what drives it on the inside. Finished with beveled edges, ergonomics are also improved with curved lugs, a rubber-clad crown and rectangular pushers with rubber inserts.
Then there’s the dial, which offers enhanced depth with a carbon pattern illusion, lifted counters and tone-on-tone rehauts. And the strap? Well it boasts a new geometry that integrates a “one click” interchangeability system for easy wear.
What remains intact – from the premier 2005 version of the Big Bang to this 2026 rendition – are the six unaligned and functional screws on the bezel, the signature ears and the multi-layered construction.
“Every detail of the Big Bang Original Unico has been rethought, refined, re-engineered, while preserving what makes it truly original: the authentic DNA of the first Big Bang but making it more Hublot than ever, with our in-house Unico movement,” says Julien Tornare, Hublot CEO. “The Big Bang Original Unico is the best version of the Big Bang Original, now more sculptural, more integrated.”
There are four models up for grabs: a fully black ceramic version aptly dubbed Black Magic, lightweight Titanium, Titanium Ceramic and the standout King Gold (Hublot’s proprietary alloy) Ceramic, which integrates inky blacks with – you guessed it – gold and pink gold.
A watch that carries with it 20 years of innovation on its transparent sapphire crystal caseback, the Big Bang Original Unico cements itself as a loud, unapologetic icon of modern haute horlogerie.
Photography courtesy of Hublot.
