French men’s fashion house Berluti and watchmaker Hublot have turned their focus to the Big Bang Unico chronograph for the first time.
Bringing together the former’s legendary Venezia leather and its patina with the latter’s art of fusion of materials, these different models have all had the Hublot Classic Fusion watch as their base.
For this new reveal, the two houses have gone back to the drawing board working hand in hand with Kris Van Assche, creative Director of Berluti, to design a model based for the first time on the iconic Big Bang Unico chronograph.
Van Assche explained: “The Big Bang chronograph’s strong, unmistakeable and modern identity reflects Berluti’s new universe and lifestyle. The patina is our trademark, usually present in our shoes and leather goods, but all that know-how can also be used for something totally different.
“Bringing the Cold Brown patina – which was inspired by an archive patina and renewed through a glaçage process to obtain a rich, cutting edge colour – to the Big Bang Unico is an opportunity for Berluti’s craft to be discovered in a new context. Using our tradition and heritage in innovative, forward thinking ways has opened up a world of possibilities.”
While Ricardo Guadalupe, CEO of Hublot, said: “It has already been four years since we began our partnership with the Berluti House and, for the first time, we have chosen the Big Bang Unico model as the basis of our collaboration.
“The final result combines an exercise in style, due to Kris Van Assche’s flair for fashion, with an amazing technical feat made possible by the expertise of our watchmakers, designers and engineers, all of whose know-how was required to master the conception of this new bezel.”
At the heart of this Hublot Big Bang is the iconic Unico manufacture movement, a chronograph with flyback function.
Here, this MHUB1242 calibre beats from within a case of 45-millimetre diameter, and offers a 72-hour power reserve.
Delivered in a chest signed by the two houses, presenting the emblematic Berluti shoehorn key ring and travel case, this model will only be available in a limited edition of 100 pieces.
