A Closer Look At Hublot's New Full Sapphire Big Bang And Big Bang Integral Tourbillon High Jewellery

Hublot has already had a pretty big year for new releases with the Big Bang Unico Yellow Magic, and the Classic Fusion Takashi Murakami All Black, and the Big Bang Unico Red Carbon Alex Ovechkin.

And while we expect the brand to roll out more watches throughout the year, at Watches & Wonders 2021, the brand introduced more than just the Yellow Magic. Hublot presented a tightly curated collection of novelties, focusing on innovation in materials and architecture.

Let’s begin with the almost completely transparent Big Bang Integral Tourbillon Full Sapphire.

Both the case and the integrated bracelet of the Big Bang Integral Tourbillon Full Sapphire are crafted from the notoriously-difficult-to-machine sapphire. But on top of being the first Big Bang with an integrated case and bracelet, this 30-piece limited edition is fitted with the in-house HUB6035 automatic tourbillon movement. That means Hublot’s watchmakers had to redesign the Big Bang Integral Tourbillon Full Sapphire case to house the mechanism.
 

Hublot removed almost all of the visible screws and overhauled the general geometry, allowing the case and bracelet to be integrated. The brand also developed a new profile so that the bracelet appeared to flow seamlessly into the case.
 

On the face of the watch, designers reworked the bridges and main plates using sapphire to create the illusion of these parts floating in space. Additionally, other inserts and attachments were reduced to their simplest expression to allow light to shine through. The result is a 43mm case composed of no fewer than 37 components, five of which are made solely from sapphire. 
 

The redesigned case provides much depth. And one look through the layers reveals the HUB6035 with a micro-rotor at 12 o'clock and the tourbillon at 6 o’clock, along with three transparent sapphire bridges. Each gear train receives light through the dial side and the skeleton movement on the other side. The result is both transparent and reflective. It is no small feat to create this kind of play on light.
 

Limited to 30 pieces, the Big Bang Integral Tourbillon Full Sapphire is priced at $422,000.
 

If the Big Bang Integral Tourbillon Full Sapphire is mostly about transparency with some refraction thrown in, the Big Bang Integral Tourbillon High Jewellery flips the script.

While Hublot is not well-known for jewelry watches, the brand has released some legendary, gem-encrusted timepieces. In 2008 there was One Million Dollar Diamond Big Bang. Then 2012 saw the incredible Big Bang 2 Million € BB. And last year, the brand introduced the Big Bang Integral Titanium Pavé.
 

This year’s diamond dazzler takes its cues from the 2020 Big Bang Integral, except this iteration has erased and replaced the indices with raised platforms set with baguette-cut diamonds, allowing for a better view of the HUB6035 in-house automatic movement. And with the bracelet studded with invisibly set stones, this 43mm piece made of 18K white gold carries a total of 484 baguette-cut diamonds.
 

The Big Bang Integral Tourbillon High Jewellery is available on-demand and priced at $685,000.

(Photography by Pierre Vogel)