Hublot and Novak Djokovic have teamed up in a doubles paring worthy of a grand slam, creating a new Big Bang Unico – the lightest the Nyon manufacture has ever produced!
In 2021, Hublot welcomed World #1 tennis star, Novak Djokovic into the fold, and since then, has been seen sporting many of Hublot’s pieces, such as the Big Bang Meca-10 and Big Bang Unico. It was a seemly great fit for the brand, as well as Novak himself. Both have carved their own path in their respective fields, and both are not without some controversy, but most importantly, both have dared to be different and through this created success. So it was only a matter of time before Hublot and Novak Djokovic put their heads together to create a collaboration fitting of the 24x Grand Slam winner.
The result is the new Hublot Big Bang Unico x Novak Djokovic. A 42mm Big Bang Unico, but it’s not just any old Unico, nor is it a piece where they have used a signature or colourway. Hublot, always a brand to try something new has created the lightest Big Bang Unico ever, and a watch that not only has performance at its heart, but sustainability as well.
Weighing a mere 49.5 grams on the elastic strap, the Hublot Big Bang Unico x Novak Djokovic is lighter than a tennis ball, a feat that has been achieved through several innovations that talk to the above – performance and sustainability. The watch is made from a composite that comes from 25 HEAD racquets (Novak’s racquet of choice), as well as 17 dark blue and 15 light blue Lacoste polos used by Djokovic during his 2023 season, the year in which he broke the records by winning his 24th Grand Slam singles title – edging out both Rafael Nadal (22 Grand Slams) and Roger Federer (20 Grand Slams) and equalling Margret Court’s record.
The composite material of which the case and bezel are made is an Epoxy resin, which is reinforced with quartz powder and glass veil that has been fused with recycled racquets and shirts. The result is a case that is speckled with fragments of light & dark blue textiles and black carbon, which creates this blue camouflage effect.
The weight-saving measures don’t stop there, however. Hublot has designed the crown and pushers out of aluminium as well, as has the case sides and caseback. Rather than traditional sapphire crystal, Hublot has chosen to use ultra-tough Gorilla Glass, similar to that found on the new iPhones. It’s highly durable while being 2x lighter than sapphire.
The movement is Hublot’s Unico HUB1280 movement but with a small (or rather large) change. In order to make the watch super light, the Unico movement has been altered, and instead of the standard materials, Hublot has swapped these out for aluminium, reducing the weight of the movement by 27%. Not only this but due to the lightness of the watch and the way it is made, this is a piece that you can strap on and play tennis in. The aluminium in the movement is anodised in light blue or grey to echo the camouflage colour scheme and is visible through the display caseback.
The watch is one for not just fans of Hublot but of Novak Djokovic and tennis in general, with many nods to the player and the game. As mentioned, the start/stop pusher at 4 o’clock is tennis ball yellow, and on the bezel, Hublot has designed the screws to be reminiscent of tennis balls, now rounded with the curved lines of the ball instead of the traditional H screws. The counterbalance on the chronograph second hand is Novak’s logo and the the watch is limited to just 100 pieces worldwide.
The watch keeps the same dimensions as a conventional Big Bang Unico, 42mm diameter and 14.5mm thick, and so on the wrist, it wears pretty much the same as your standard, albeit it is much, much lighter. I mentioned that on the elastic strap, this watch is lighter than a tennis ball, at only 49.5gms, but should you not want to put this on the elastic strap, Hublot also includes three other straps – a velcro strap as pictured here, making the watch a total of 54gm, a tennis wristband increasing it to just 65gms, or on the standard Hublot rubber strap and titanium clasp making it the heaviest version at 75gms. Whatever you choose to pair it with, you’re sure to not feel much difference!
Final Thoughts
The release of the Hublot Big Bang Unico x Novak Djokovic showcases what Hublot does best – meaningful collaborations with it’s ambassadors that go far beyond the colour changes, logo additions and caseback motifs. Hublot has a way of teaming up with collaborators and infusing as much of them into the watch as Hublot itself. Just look at the Big Bang Unico Nespresso collaboration with recycled coffee pods and coffee beans, or the Classic Fusion Orlinski that allowed Richard Orlinski to imagine what a Hublot would be if designed by him. Now, teaming up with arguably the best tennis player in the world, a lightweight, fit-for-purpose Big Bang Unico made from actual items from Novak himself, and that can be worn whilst playing. Will we see Novak play with this piece on the wrist? Only he will answer that in time, but the fact is, it can be!
Trying this on for the first time, I can say without question that it is a great piece that will make many, well, 90 collectors happy (Novak bought the first 10 for his support team!), and wears exactly as it should – light, very little movement on the wrist and is just an overall great looking watch. For those of you out there who are looking for something a little different and has some real sporting credibility, the Big Bang Unico x Novak Djokovic is a piece that you should consider adding to your collection!
Reference: 441.QKB.5120.NR.DJO24 – limited to 100 pieces
Specification:
- Case: 42mm x 14.5mm thick
- Case Material: Composite epoxy resin made from 25 recycled HEAD tennis racquets & 17 dark blue and 15 light blue Lacoste polos
- Dial: Matte sky blue open-worked dial with white luminescent indexes and
- Crystal: Gorilla Glass
- Movement: In-house HUB1280 Automatic calibre with a flyback chronograph movement. Beating at 28,800 VpH / 4Hz and pivoting on 43 Jewels
- Case-Back: Polished Sky Blue Anodizing Aluminium with Gorilla Glass inset
- Water resistance: 100 metres / 10ATM
- Power reserve: 72 hours
- Straps: First strap – tennis wristband, second strap – blue elastic, third strap – blue velcro fastener fabric & fourth strap – white rubber strap
- Buckles: Polished Blue Aluminium Sport buckle for the velcro strap, & a Titanium Deployant Buckle for the rubber strap.
