Hublot is making a crowd-pleasing move into metal bracelets for its Big Bang family, parking its tanks firmly on the lawn of Audemars Piguet and its Royal Oak.
It was the brand’s big news on day one of the LVMH Watch Week, which kicked-off in Dubai today.
Big Bang was launched with rubber straps in 2005 as a radical alternative to steel and precious metal watches on bracelets.
The combination of rubber with other materials such as gold and ceramic was part of the Art of Fusion mantra of the brand, so switching to matching watch heads with integrated bracelets is a significant strategic shift into a highly competitive part of the market.
Three Big Bang Integral models were launched today: titanium watch head on titanium bracelet, black ceramic on black ceramic (limited to 500 pieces) and King Gold on King Gold, a Hublot-invented alloy of gold, copper and platinum.
“Fifteen years of the Big Bang and a new first. A unique, fully integrated bracelet and a redesigned case for a different clientèle. The Big Bang Integral and its integrated architecture have propelled this model into a whole new universe,” said Ricardo Guadalupe,CEO of Hublot.
The collection’s dial and bezel are identical to the existing Big Bang 42 mm model but indices replace Arabic numerals and its pushers return to the design of the original model from 2005.
They house HUB1280 – UNICO chronograph movements in a 14.5mm case.
Models are priced at £17,300 for the titanium model, £19,100 for the ceramic piece and £43,500 for King Gold.
