Sameera Gamage 
A combination of bold design, vibrant SAXEM green, and Hublot’s unstoppable creativity is a good start to celebrating 20 years of the iconic Big Bang!
Hublot has come flying out of the gates for 2025, releasing updates for three of their iconic collections during LVMH Watch Week 2025. As you may be aware already, it’s Hublot’s Big Bang’s 20th anniversary this year, and you can bet that the brand is going to release some epic timepieces to commemorate this event.
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Hublot for LVMH Watch Week 2025 has already released an update to their Spirit of Big Bang collection, with the chronograph models getting three new colourways: sky blue, sand and green! The sky-blue and sand-coloured editions are some seriously good-looking pieces, and if given the chance, I can’t wait to get them for review! Another introduction during LVMH Watch Week 2025 that had everyone talking at the local activation in Sydney earlier this week was the new-generation Big Bang Meca-10 timepieces. Hublot released these latest Big Bang Meca-10 with a new movement to fit the new 42mm case size, with the models also being presented in three different materials: titanium, King Gold and Frosted Carbon. While everyone was certainly drawn to the Frosted Carbon (understandably), the King Gold for me looked spectacular on the wrist!
And honestly, to me, this wasn’t even their best release yet. I may be a little biased here because I’m a big fan of Hublot’s sapphire creations, so I would have certainly loved to see the all-new sapphire-related Big Bang Tourbillon Automatic Green SAXEM! Sadly, Hublot Australia could not get this release into the local LVMH unveiling in Sydney. I think if they did, It could have stolen the show!
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Last year, when the Watch Advice team visited Switzerland for Geneva Watch Days, we had the chance to visit Hublot and it’s Manufacture. I had the incredible opportunity to take a deep dive into Hublot’s masterpieces, having lengthy discussions with the watchmakers, particularly on their “Art of Fusion” creations. Coming into the Manufacture, I had a rough idea of how Sapphire timepieces were made, but honestly, I was left in awe at just how incredibly complex Sapphire watchmaking really is, let alone creating different coloured sapphire models. I feel like people see sapphire timepieces and don’t think too much of it or dismiss the complexity in its craftsmanship, which is really sad to see as it is one of the heights of modern horology.
Hublot was not the first brand to introduce sapphire material into watchmaking, but they are the only brand in the world to be able to produce the material consistently in different shapes and more importantly, different colours! The brand has dedicated several years to gaining experience and knowledge in producing sapphire timepieces efficiently. They have certainly mastered the “Art of Fusion” and is at the top of the game when it comes to Sapphire timepieces. In fact, they are “Always seeking new creative avenues, with the brand becoming the first and only watch brand to use SAXEM, a material that’s related to sapphire while offering more luminous and chromatic possibilities.”
The Hublot Big Bang Tourbillon Automatic Green SAXEM combines an intense emerald-green transparent case with a self-winding tourbillon movement, limited to just 18 timepieces. Creating a sapphire timepiece in this colour is a challenging task that no other watch brand in the world has been able to execute. With Hublot having mastered Sapphire creations, they realised the limitations they would face regarding the hues and colour intensities of different sapphire colours. In order to create an emerald-like green transparent material, Hublot and the team searched far and wide for the answer until they stumbled upon SAXEM (Sapphire Aluminum oXide and rare Earth Mineral). This was a material that was originally created for satellite technology.
“While it does boast many of the same properties to sapphire such as hardness and transparent, it’s different on a molecular level. While both are made of aluminum oxide, SAXEM is combined with rare earth elements. Its also structurally different, as sapphire is trigonal (three-sided) while SAXEM is cubic (four-sided). This subtle but significant distinction allows for SAXEM to take on intense colours and shine brilliantly, like a precious gemstone.“
Hublot
The beautiful, vibrant SAXEM case measures 44mm in diameter and 14.4mm in thickness. The crown, “one-click” system for the straps as well as the iconic screws on the bezel have all been done in black, which contrasts nicely against the transparent green SAXEM case. To accentuate this colour theme further, Hublot has provided a black-lined rubber strap as standard.
The sapphire has a smoked black tint, while the dial has also been blacked out, with the hour markers, hands and tourbillon case all done in black to match the case aesthetics. While I understand the reason for blacking out the movement was to provide a direct contrast to the case so that the green SAXEM would stand out more, which it certainly does, I feel like having the hour indices and hands in black wasn’t the right choice here. I think functionality is lost when time cannot be read easily, which can be the case when you have a skeleton dial, with the dial elements’ colour matching the movement. That’s certainly not to say that you cannot read the time at all, as the movement does have a lot of open space, which means fewer “obstructions” when considering said ‘readability’.
The movement in question for this timepiece is Hublot’s MHUB6035. This is an automatic tourbillon manufacture movement, being entirely developed and created in-house by Hublot. The movement features a 22-karat gold micro-rotor that is positioned on the dial side of the movement at 12 o’clock, so that the wearer can see it spinning at all times! Hublot states that “the winding is smooth and efficient, with ceramic ball bearings, which allows the movement to reach a minimum chronometric power reserve of 72 hours. This winding rotor complements the overall aesthetic view of the dial, providing a balanced look with the tourbillon complication sitting at 6 o’clock.
Final Thoughts
Hublot has released some exceptional timepeices for LVMH Watch Week, with this Big Bang Tourbillon Automatic Green SAXEM being one of the stand-out pieces. The brand already released a Big Bang model in SAXEM green last year. However, dial execution was a little different. I loved the 2024 release with the matching green rubber-lined strap, with the dial having green SuperLumi-Nova so that it would stand out against the blacked-out movement.
I see what Hublot aimed to achieve here—the combination of black and green adds a refined contrast that feels more visually balanced compared to an entirely SAXEM green model. While the fully blacked-out dial sacrifices some readability, it does so in favor of creating a truly artistic and striking design. One thing is clear, though: Hublot has kicked off the year with bold creativity. As the Big Bang celebrates its 20th anniversary, this release sets the stage for what promises to be an exciting and innovative year ahead!
References: Big Bang Tourbillon Automatic Green SAXEM (429.JG.0110.RT)
Specifications:
- Dimensions: 44mm, 14.40mm thick
- Case Material: Polished green SAXEM
- Dial: Smoked black sapphire crystal with skeletonised black movement.
- Crystal: Sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating
- Water resistance: 30m / 3 Bar
- Movement: MHUB6035 Manufacture Automatic Tourbillon movement operating @ 3Hz (21,600 VpH)
- Power reserve: Approx. 72 hours
- Strap: Black lined rubber strap with black ceramic and black-plated titanium deployant buckle clasp. Additional green transparent lined rubber strap and black velcro fastener fabric with microblasted black ceramic sport buckle also provided.
