Hublot has introduced a new limited-edition watch for high-stakes poker players, the Hublot Big Bang Unico World Poker Tour. The watch adapts the Big Bang case with accents on the bezel for card players. Inside, it has Hublot’s manufacture column-wheel chronograph movement.
The Big Bang Unico World Poker Tour is 45.5 mm in diameter. It comes in two versions: one in stainless steel (shown here) and one in Hublot’s special 18-karat gold alloy with a higher-than-normal platinum content, known as “King Gold” (see below). Some sections of the case are polished while others are microblasted. This combination of finishes allows for the special design of the bezel. A spade, club, heart and diamond ornament its cardinal points.
Through the skeletonized dial, one can see the inner workings of the Unico caliber. A four-hertz automatic flyback chronograph, the HUB 1242 Unico movement has a column wheel and double clutch that can be seen through the dial. It has a 72-hour power reserve. The watch runs in 38 jewels and has 330 components. Hovering above the movement, small seconds are displayed at 9 o’clock. The counter at 3 o’clock shows the chronograph minutes, as well as a date aperture on its right side. Hour markers, Arabic numerals and the hour and minutes hands are coated in a deep red Super-LumiNova. The counter rings, numeral outlines and hands are plated in rhodium on the steel version and in rose gold on the King Gold version. The case is affixed with six titanium screws, each shaped into an H. The watch is water resistant to 100 meters.
The Big Bang Unico World Poker Tour has nonreflective sapphire crystals on both the front and back of the case. The front crystal has the Hublot name and logo affixed to it; the caseback features the World Poker Tour logo. The watch signals Hublot’s new partnership with World Poker Tour. The brand will serve as official timekeeper and official watch of WPT’s international poker circuit. Hublot CEO Ricardo Guadalupe presented the watch at the World Poker Tour’s Five Diamond World Poker Classic tournament at the Bellagio in Las Vegas.
The steel version of the Big Bang Unico World Poker Tour is available in a limited edition of 200 pieces, each individually numbered. It costs $25,200. There are just 100 pieces of the King Gold version, which costs $45,900. Each watch comes with three hybrid straps made of alligator stitched to a rubber underside. The straps can be easily inserted and removed via Hublot’s “one-click” system on the lugs. The King Gold has straps in red, black and gold treatment, all with rose gold deployant buckles. The steel version has red, black, and silver-treated straps, with the buckle in steel as well.
