The latest Spirit of Big Bang takes its inspiration from the ancient Chinese art of paper cutting to create a 3D silhouette of an eastern dragon.
2024 is marked as the Year of the Dragon in the Chinese calendar, which comes around once every 12 years. In the spirit of this tradition, Hublot has created the latest Spirit of Big Bang with a stunning 3D silhouette of a dragon.
This isn’t just an ordinary 3D silhouette, either. The year 4722 in the Chinese calendar is equivalent to 2024, which marks the year of the Wood Dragon. As a reference to the Wood Dragon, Hublot has worked alongside artist Chen Fen Wan, who has expertise in paper-cutting, to create the 3D silhouette of the dragon.
The dragon is revered in Chinese culture as associated with prosperity. It symbolises luck, strength and wisdom while also being an imperial icon that embodies life and mortality. The dragon is derived from the Latin word “Draco” and the Greek word “draken”, and it signifies a piercing gaze, which is an invitation to see more clearly and go through and beyond appearances.
This particular dragon, however, is referred to as “Loong” in Chinese culture. The eastern dragon takes on the features of nine different animals. The eyes of a prawn, horns of a deer, mouth of a bull, nose of a dog, whiskers of a catfish, mane of a lion, long tail of a snake, scales of a fish and lastly, the claws of an eagle. While all of this isn’t depicted in the 3D silhouette created by Chen Fenwan, the dragon is still portrayed in majestic detail, in vibrant pink and blue colours mixed with greys and whites.
Chinese artist Chen Fenwan graduated from the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts and currently lives and works between Guangzhou and Foshan. Her area of expertise lies in the language of paper, bringing to life works of art through flexible materials. She is renowned for creating pieces that tie in her personal experience with public memories, in which she can communicate with a wider audience.
The Spirit of Big Bang Titanium Dragon is a great example of Hublot’s “Art of Fusion” and the brand’s commitment to continually reimagining materials and design. The creation of the 3D silhouette is done in multi-dimensional layers in paper cut-outs to form the shape of the dragon. The dragon’s head is formed from a series of five layers that alternate between hands, wheels and H-shaped screws, with a body and scales that extend onto the strap.
This Chinese Year of the Dragon piece comes with the Hublot Calibre HUB1710 movement, which is based on Zeniths Elite 670 calibre movement. This automatic winding movement operates at a high frequency of 28,800 VpH (4hz), giving out a decent power reserve of 50 hours. The movement, visible through the open case back, is housed in a titanium case.
The timepiece is limited to just 88 timepieces. As stated by the brand, the artwork on the timepiece is meant to symbolise “the ever-renewing totem of life”. What it does truly express, however, is Hublot’s philosophy of “Be First, Unique and Different.” This timepiece wasn’t created with the everyday watch enthusiast in mind.
With unique timepieces like this, you will always come across individuals who don’t like the designs, which is perfectly fine as this is what Haute Horology is. This timepiece is catered for the more flamboyant and “out there” personalities. I personally think the 3D dragon silhouette is quite impressive, considering the techniques required to create it.
What I’m not a fan of, however, is the strap design or the choice of colours for the strap. While I understand the colours are there to reflect the colours of the Loong dragon on the dial, it feels like there is too much going on with the watch. If the scales were in greyscale, it would also allow the 3D silhouette to stand out and be the watch’s main feature, but here is the thing: Hublot has a great range of straps available from all sorts of colours that will suit this watch perfectly, meaning you will get more wear out it!
Reference: 646.NX.6600.RX.CHF24
Specification
- Case: 42mm
- Case Material: Titanium
- Dial: 3D silhouette done in multi-dimensional layers in paper cut-outs to form the shape of the dragon.
- Crystal: Sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating on both sides
- Water resistance: TBA
- Movement: Hublot Calibre HUB1710 movement
- Power reserve: 50 hours
- Bracelet: Rubber strap that features a rubber marquetry motif. The dragon scales are coloured and nano-vulcanised to be integrated into the strap.
