Today, Hublot has announced not one, but six new versions of the Big Bang Integrated Time Only, and here’s the kicker — this time they’re 38mm.
When the first Hublot watch was launched by Carlo Crocco all the way back in 1980, it stood out. Totally different from anything else on the market, it supposedly took Crocco and his team at MDM Watches three years to develop the rubber strap for the first Hublot. The juxtaposition of a high-end gold case and an integrated rubber strap defined that first watch and “The Art of Fusion” would become the signature of a brand defined by experimentation.
It was in that spirit that Hublot released the first Big Bang on a bracelet in 2020 (just a few weeks before the pandemic, as it turned out). I remember the prevailing sentiment at the time being slight surprise that a braceleted Big Bang didn’t already exist and a bemused “okay” before everyone got very distracted by the world shutting down.
That first 42mm Big Bang Integral Chronograph was followed up by a 40mm Big Bang Integral Time Only two years later. Those first two Integral models featured skeletonized sapphire dials and sporty red and black highlights. Like many large Hublot releases, they each felt decidedly masculine.
Today’s new Big Bang Integrated Time Only releases are much more sedate, swapping sapphire skeleton dials for solid ones finished in somewhat more traditional polished blacks or sunray blues. With their more neutral designs and smaller case sizes, Hublot intends these as a unisex alternative to the bigger, brasher Big Bangs we’re all familiar with.
I’d posit that these watches act as more than just a new unisex alternative to other, more clearly gender-coded Hublots. The 38mm Big Bang Integrated Time Only also seems like an attempt to bridge the divide between Hublot collectors and customers who are generally warded away by the boldness of Hublot.
From a technical standpoint, the six new models all share the same dimensions, with 38mm cases that measure in at a thin 9.4mm. Each is water resistant to 100m, and powered by the self-winding Hublot MHUB1115 movement with 50 hours of power reserve. The dials all share the same layout, with Arabic numerals marking the even hours, and stick indices marking the odds. Whether you opt for the blue or the black dial, each watch is fitted with an unframed black date wheel replacing the three o’clock marker.
The Big Bang Integrated Time Only 38mm is available in a choice of three materials: titanium, 18k King Gold, or Ceramic, each available with a black or blue dial. If you opt for King Gold (a proprietary rose gold alloy used by Hublot that promises to never lose its color) or titanium, your choice of dial color will come with a color-matched crown and case band. The ceramic releases take that choice a bit further by color-matching the entire watch to the dial.
The Big Bang Integrated Time Only 38mm is available through Hublot’s retail network and online boutique. Prices start at $13,100. Hublot
