Matt Clymo 
LVMH WATCH WEEK 2025: Hublot kicks off the year with a bang, quite literally, with three new Big Bang Meca-10 pieces that are smaller and with an overhauled movement.
The Big Bang turns 20 this year, just one of the many watch anniversaries that are happening across the year, and for LVMH Watch Week, Hublot is starting it with a bang, by launching three new versions of their award-winning Big Bang Meca-10. Now before you think it’s just some new colours, think again my dear reader as the Nyon brand has given the Meca-10 an overhaul. It is now shrunk down to a wonderful 42mm and the movement has been redesigned to both fit the new case size and bring to life the new movement in a different way to its predecessor.
The new Big Bang Meca-10 lineup consists of either a brushed titanium, King Gold or what Hublot call Frosted Carbon case – giving each piece a unique look and to suit a different range of styles and tastes. Each measures 42mm in diameter, losing 3mm from the previous Big Bang Meca-10, and is also now almost 2mm thinner, being shaved down from 15.8mm to a respectable 13.9mm making them a lot more wearable for those who have smaller wrists and were not able to pull off the larger size.
RELATED READING: Hands On Review With The Hublot Big Bang Meca-10 Ceramic Blue
While the case sizing is one major improvement to the Big Bang Meca-10, the other major change is the movement inside. Due to the reduced case size, the movement boffins at Hublot had to design the Meca-10 movement to accommodate the pieces. The challenge was to do this and not lose the look and feel of the Meca-10, which was originally designed to resemble Meccano sets some of us may have played with as a kid.
The drilled holes in the three bridges are now gone, but the aesthetics are similar. Hublot has decorated these with satin-brushed surfaces and hand-polished bevels, which does elevate the look somewhat, and not only this, but are all galvanically coloured to match the cases of each watch.
On the dial side, you will also notice a few subtle differences in the look of the Meca-10. In redesigning the movement, Hublot has saved space by combining the 10-day power reserve disc at 6 o’clock with the disc at 3 o’clock indicating the power was empty. Instead, you now have a compact and easy-to-read power reserve indicator at 3 o’clock that shows the days counting down from 10, and at 3 days, a red indicator to let the wearer know it’s getting low and will need winding soon.
The dial still retains the “crémaillère” rack system which is used to drive the power reserve indicator. Consisting of a linear gear engaging a circular gear, moving in a straight line, it ‘reads’ the energy from the two barrels and transfers this to the two superimposed disks rotating in opposite directions which are connected by a spiral spring that coils in their centre like the barrel spring.
While the official specifications state the power reserve is 10 days, Hublot says this is the minimum and the barrels do in fact have more in them, but the power reserve indicator is capped at 10 days, ensuring that you are never left with less than you think.
The King Gold and brushed titanium are not new to the Big Bang Meca-10, however the Frosted Carbon is a new material addition to the collection. Frosted Carbon has a unique camouflage-like pattern that means no piece will ever be the same, as we have seen in the Spirit of Big Bang Carbon Blue, Green and Orange.
The titanium and King Gold models both come with black rubber straps that are easily changed by way of Hublot’s One Click system. The Frosted Carbon model has a black velcro strap that aligns with the lighter weight of the carbon case.
Initial Thoughts
When we first saw these in the press pics, it was one of those double-take moments where you had to look a little more closely at the changes to the Meca-10. But is person, the changes are much more evident once you strap it on the wrist! The smaller case size is a big win for Hublot fans and shows that the brand is definitely moving in the direction of smaller and more wearable case sizes for the average wrist. Having worn the original Big Bang Meca-10, it was a large watch and if you had wrists much smaller than my 17.5cm, then you would struggle to pull it off. This new smaller and thinner case makes this just that much easier.
Even though Hublot has made substantial changes to the Meca-10 in this new line up, as a nice surprise, the pricing hasn’t been altered all that much, in fact, the titanium model is the same as the current version, being A$34,300, the King Gold is now A$63,800, shaving off A$4,900 from the 2024 model’s price of A$68,700 and the Frosted Carbon as a new model sits at A$40,800 – slightly more than the current black or blue ceramic models understandably.
This is a nice change to see a brand NOT increasing prices due to an updated reference, and even better as these are actually new models, new designs and a new movement, as opposed to just a colour change or a slightly updated movement with more power based on the previous calibre. All in all it’s a good release from Hublot, a good way to start the new year and celebrate the Big Bang’s 20th Birthday and several watches that people can now consider adding to their collections.
References:
- 444.OX.1180.RX – King Gold
- 444.NX.1170.RX – Titanium
- 444.QN.1170.NR – Carbon Black
Specifications:
- Case: 42mm x 13.9mm thick
- Case Material: Brushed polished King Gold or Titanium / Matt black Frosted Carbon
- Dial: Matt black and colour-matched skeleton dials with a 10-day power reserve indicator and small seconds
- Bezel: Fixed brushed polished King Gold or Titanium / Matt black Frosted Carbon
- Crystal: Sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating
- Movement: HUB1205 Manufacture Manual-winding Skeleton Power Reserve Movement. Beating at 21,600 VpH / 3Hz and pivoting on 29 Jewels
- Case-Back: Brushed polished King Gold or Titanium / Matt black Frosted Carbon with sapphire crystal
- Water resistance: 100 metres / 10ATM
- Power reserve: 10 Days / 240 hours
- Strap: Black lined rubber strapper with 18K King Gold and Black-plated Titanium Deployant Buckle / Black with velcro fastener fabric and microblasted Black ceramic sport buckle.
Australian Recommended Retail Prices:
- Titanium: AUD $34,300
- King Gold: $63,700
- Frosted Carbon: $40,800
