For years, Hublot has been aggressive when it comes to creating colorful watches. From primaries like red and blue, to neutrals such as black, white, taupe and gray, Hublot is always raising the bar when it comes to releasing new colorful watches. This is the brand that brings us fabric dials in a host of patterns, embroidered dials and straps, gemstone adorned dials that burst with shimmer, and even brightly colored fur straps. Hublot also brought us the world’s first red ceramic and colored sapphire cases. Now, Hublot unveils its newest creation in a color that reflects the sun: the Spirit of Big Bang Yellow Sapphire 42mm.
It was three years ago in 2016 that Hublot first unveiled its totally transparent sapphire-cased Big Bang Unico watch. Since then, the brand has expanded the clear sapphire case so that in 2017 it added smoky gray/black, followed by red and blue. In its Metallurgy Research Department in the Nyon, Switzerland, manufacture, Hublot’s masters of innovation and fusion regularly work to develop these new materials, new colors, and new concepts. For the creation of the colored sapphire with a uniform appearance, the brand turns to a heating and fusing process that binds aluminium oxide (raw sapphire material) with metal chromium of a desired color.
Now, thanks to a deft blending of engineering and chemistry, and a new element entering the process, Hublot brings the bold and beautiful yellow sapphire to the forefront. The new Spirit of Big Bang Yellow Sapphire 42mm case is created by mixing aluminium oxide with copper to achieve the lemon yellow hue that recalls the sun’s glow.
One of the main attributes that makes sapphire such a coveted case material is its hardness and its scratch resistance. A diamond is a 10 on the Mohs scale of hardness, but the sapphire crystal is not far behind, measuring 9 on the Mohs scale. The material is also incredibly scratch resistant because of its hardness. Another perk is the fact that the sapphire is as light as titanium and the full watch, with strap, weighs just 107 grams on the wrist.
The chronograph timepiece is powered by a movement from Hublot’s sister company Zenith. The Zenith El Primero caliber that beats at 5Hz, however, has been further finished in house at Hublot. The result, the HUB 4700 self-winding skeleton movement consists of 278 parts. It offers 50 hours of power reserve. The skeletonized dial allows for viewing of the blacked titanium components, and black chronograph counters. All of the markers and hands are created in bold yellow. The watch features a date aperture at 4:30.
Water resistant to 50 meters, the Spirit of Big Bang Yellow Sapphire watch is finished with a natural ribbed yellow rubbers strap. The yellow sapphire bezel is set with black titanium screws and the crown and pushers are black-plated titanium. The sapphire crystal is anti-reflective treated and the caseback is yellow sapphire. Because the process of making the sapphire case is so complex and expensive, Hublot is limiting in the production of the Spirit of Big Bang Yellow Sapphire to just 100 pieces.
