The brand’s legitimacy in the field of football has also gained it the right to serve as Official Timekeeper for the FIFA World Cup, as well as Official Watch. The model now know as the “Soccer Bang”, notably because it has crisscrossed the world during the months prior to the World Cup, is a first for Hublot. The Big Bang UNICO Bi-Retrograde Chrono is indeed a different kind of chronograph in several respects. The watch was specifically designed for the world of soccer with a biretrograde function and a central chronograph function driven by a movement for which a patent has been filed.
Simply unique in the watch industry with its column wheel and its double clutch on the dial side, the Manufacture Hublot Caliber UNICO HUB1260 called for 18 months of research and development in order to successfully combine the biretrograde and central chronograph displays. In concrete terms, when the chronograph is activated, the chronograph seconds hand and the minutes hands sweep from left to right over a 45-minute segment (corresponding to half a soccer match), along with a 15-minute extra time that can count up to 60. Two pushers on either side of the crown serve to start stop and reset the chronograph, while the 2 o’clock one can also be used to indicate the period of time chosen from the four possibilities : first half of the match, half-time, second half of the match and end of match, indicated through a central aperture at 12 o’clock.
Quite obviously, time does not actually stop during a football match, which is why the two permanently rotating hands are placed in a counter at 6 o’clock. They continue to display the onward running hours and minutes, while the seconds are indicated on a small segment-shaped sudial with a three-armed hand.
While the functions offered are designed with soccer in mind, the aesthetic of the Big Bang UNICO Bi-Retrograde Chrono : Official Watch of the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil picks up all the current codes. The dial features dominant yellow and green colors in reference to the World Cup host nation, while the 45.5 mm-diameter case of the Big Bang UNICO is accentuated by a powerful and sophisticated design. Two versions are available in limited editions : the first is a 100-piece limited series in 18K King Gold with a carbon fiber bezel ; and the second a 200-piece edition with a black ceramic case and carbon fiber bezel.
Innovation, elegance and independence: such are the three themes around which Hublot develops models consistently imbued with a successful blend of tradition and modernity. Inspired by the design codes of traditional watchmaking, the most classic of the Hublot collections welcomes the Classic Fusion 8-Day Power Reserve. Available in a beautiful 45mm diameter, and in King Gold or titanium versions, the case houses one of the thinnest hand-wound movements in the industry (4.4mm thin) complete with a power-reserve indicator, a date and small seconds on the dial side. The line is also enriched with the Classic Fusion Tourbillon Firmament starring the rarest material on the planet, Osmium. It has the property of being extremely hard and is also the heaviest and densest metal found on Earth, in the same mines as platinum, in Russia and in South Africa. In its crystallized form, it becomes inalterable in air and its brilliance is eternal. Framed in black ceramic, the dial of this skeleton tourbillon subtly evokes the night sky. The most refined Hublot collection also welcomes the second Minute Repeater Tourbillon in the history of the brand. The Classic Fusion Cathedral Tourbillon Minute Repeater was entirely designed, developed and produced by the Hublot micromechanics, engineers and watchmakers in a 24-month R&D process. The sapphire dial affords a plunging view of the tourbillon escapement and the minute repeater mechanism of which the cathedral gong chimes with exceptional power and clarity that only a few aficionados will be able to enjoy, since this model is available in a limited edition only.
Big Bang UNICO Bi-Retrograde Chrono : Official Watch of the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil
Case : Big Bang UNICO in polished and satin-brushed King Gold Diameter : 45.5 mm Movement : mechanical self-winding, HUB1260, 72h power reserve Functions : hours, minutes, seconds, central chronograph, bi-retrograde display Dial : matt and satin-brushed black; yellow for the retrograde display and minutes hand; green for the retrograde display and seconds hand Strap : structured and ribbed natural black rubber Water resistance : 100m Limited edition : 100
Big Bang UNICO Bi-Retrograde Chrono :Official Watch of the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil
Case : Big Bang UNICO in polished and satin-brushed black ceramic Diameter : 45.5 mm Movement : mechanical self-winding, HUB1260, 72h power reserve Functions : hours, minutes, seconds, central chronograph, bi-retrograde display Dial : matt and satin-brushed black; yellow for the retrograde display and minutes hand; green for the retrograde display and seconds hand Strap : structured and ribbed natural black rubber Water resistance : 100m Limited edition : 200
Classic Fusion Tourbillon Firmament
Case : Classic Fusion black ceramic with osmium crystal Diameter : 45mm Movement : mechanical hand-wound Manufacture HUB 6017 tourbillon movement Functions : hours, minutes, seconds, tourbillon Strap : black alligator leather stitched on black rubber Water resistance : 30m
Classic Fusion 8-Day Power reserve
Case : Classic Fusion King Gold or titanium Diameter : 45mm Movement : mechanical hand-wound HUB1601 Functions : hours, minutes, seconds, 8-day power reserve Dial : sunray satin-brushed black Strap : black alligator leather stitched on black rubber Water resistance : 50m
Classic Fusion Cathedral Tourbillon Minute Repeater
Case : Classic Fusion King Gold or titanium Diameter : 45mm Movement : mechanical hand-wound HUB8001 Functions: hours, minutes, seconds, double-gong minute repeater Dial : sapphire Strap : black alligator leather stitched on black rubber Water resistance : 30m Limited edition : 50 in the King Gold version, 99 in the Titanium version
