Last week, Hublot ambassadors and friends got together at the exclusive Villa Cap Estel to celebrate summer, and what better way to do so than unveiling a brand new watch! The elegant setting at Villa Cap Estel was perfect to experience the “Hublot Loves Summer” experience while witnessing the reveal of the latest special edition timepiece; the Big Bang Unico Azur.
This latest Hublot Big Bang honors the French Riveria with the classic color combination of blue and white. A few months ago, Hublot released a re-edition of their classic Big Bang Unico Sky Blue, a watch made for summer (read more about it here!) The Big Bang Unico Sky Blue took on a much lighter color palette, with the sky blue tone being beautiful to look at.
For the Big Bang Unico Azur, Hublot has taken the same Sky Blue model and given it a darker color palette. The deep blue tone visualizes the Mediterranean waters, with the white tones throughout the watch not only providing the perfect contrast but also giving the timepiece a summer and playful look.
We loved the Big Bang Unico Sky Blue when it was released, and this latest edition of Hublot’s summer timepieces takes a different approach. When you think of summer timepieces you immediately think of light or pastel color tones, however, the deep tones on this Hublot Big Bang Unico Azur does do the watch justice by making it visually attractive. The addition of the braided white fabric leather strap does give in to the lighter color appeal, however, we think the watch personally looks much better on the darker-toned white and blue lined rubber strap.
Hublot Ceo, Ricardo Guadalupe expressed his joy at the revelation of this latest timepiece by stating “A sunny and joyous occasion in the company of our friends such as Chiara Ferragni, Usain Bolt, and Didier Deschamps for a glimpse of what the summer has in store. The Big Bang Unico Azur pays homage to the French Riviera, a destination that has never ceased to inspire artists and designers alike. Its luminosity, distinctive blue, and unique Mediterranean lifestyle invite you to sail away, relax, spend precious moments with loved ones, and enjoy the sun.”
The Hublot Big Bang Unico Azur comes in a 42mm deep blue micro-beaded ceramic case, with a white bezel and Hublot’s iconic six-screw design. The dial as we know for the Big Bang Unico is skeletonised, which would normally mean that legibility may be an issue depending on the design. For the Big Bang Unico Azur, this issue is non-existent as the mixture of large Arabic and baton style hour indices get a generous amount of white SuperLumi-Nova which not only makes readability of the dial super easy but low light legibility a breeze as well.
The large hour and minute hands also get a generous amount of SuperLumi-Nova coating, matching the hour indices nicely. Parts of the skeletonized movement are done in the same deep blue color tone to match the case, which incidentally also makes the white-color-toned parts of the dial stand out beautifully. The 9 o’clock constant seconds counter is skeletonised, which you can get away with, however, the 60-minute counter is covered with a lighter shade of blue, making it easier to read the minute track of the sub-counter. As this is a chronograph model, the readability of this sub-dial is key. By also not having the 3 o’clock subdial skeletonised, it also makes it easier to read the date window placed within this subdial.
The movement that can be seen from the dial is Hublot’s HUB1280 UNICO Manufacture self-winding chronograph. The HUB1280 movement operates at a fairly high rate of frequency at 28, 800 VpH (4Hz) and gives out a power reserve of approximately 72 hours. Maintaining its high level of performance, the movement has been optimized for visual aesthetics from the dial side.
A great addition to the Big Bang Unico family to complement the already released Big Bang Unico Sky Blue, this new Unico Azur is a timepiece sending us to summer times in the French Riviera amongst dark blue Mediterranean waters. The Big Bang Unico Azur is limited to 50 models worldwide and can only be purchased through Hublot’s two French Riviera boutiques in Monaco and St Tropez.
Reference: 441.EH.5120.RX.HBA23
Specification
- Case: 42mm
- Case Material: Blue micro-beaded ceramic
- Dial: Blue
- Crystal: Sapphire crystal glass with anti-reflective coating.
- Water resistance: 100m (10 bar)
- Movement: HUB1280 Unico Manufacture, SelfWinding Chronograph
- Power reserve: Approx. 72 hours
- Strap: White and blue lined rubber strap with Titanium deployant buckle or braided white fabric leather strap with white micro-beaded ceramic sports buckle.
