WATCH REVIEW

Borrowed Time: Hublot Big Bang Unico GMT Carbon


When we think of Hublot, we tend to picture ruggedly stylish chronographs, avant-garde materials in eye-catching color combos, and sporty design influences ranging from soccer to motor racing. Rarely do we think of classical dual-time functionality, and that’s a shame because Hublot’s Big Bang Unico GMT models — introduced in 2017 in titanium and carbon fiber-cased editions, and joined by King Gold and ceramic versions this year — represent a distinctly masculine, eminently legible, and user-friendly take on this classical “practical” complication. Here’s a hands-on look at the Big Bang Unico GMT Carbon model.

Hublot Big Bang Unico GMT_Carbon - Front
Hublot Big Bang Unico GMT Carbon

Even without the flagship chronograph model’s busy, tricompax face, the watch is immediately recognizable as a Big Bang, sporting an unapologetically large 45-mm case, constructed of carbon fiber, a material long associated with Hublot and its “art of fusion” design ethos. The material makes the thick case (15.85 mm) quite sturdy and yet pleasantly lightweight. The round, stationary carbon fiber bezel is anchored firmly to the octagonal case middle by the Nyon-based brand’s signature H-shaped screws — six of them, to be exact, representing the hour points at 12, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 o’clock. The other hour markers on the bezel, on which a central arrow-tipped hand indicates a traveler’s home or reference time, are stencil-style Arabic numerals and half-hour indices filled with white lacquer for an excellent contrast with the dark checkerboard pattern of the carbon fiber base. The flange of the bezel, with a white printed minutes scale, is made of blue composite resin, another favorite material of Hublot and one that lends an attractive blue highlight to the ensemble, matching the thick rubber strap, the “Night” sector on the dial’s central day-night indicator, and the protruding, blue-resin lateral inserts, sandwiched between the bezel and case middle and held by titanium screws.

Hublot Big Bang Unico GMT Carbon - Dial
Large, stencil-type hour numerals add legibility against the openworked dial.
Hublot Big Bang Unico GMT Carbon - Profile
The chrono-type pushers control the hour hand, which moves forward or backward in one-hour increments.
Hublot Big Bang Unico GMT Carbon - Dial - Logo
Super-LumiNova highlights the skeletonized hands and hour numerals.

The Arabic hour numerals missing on the bezel are used as the principal markers on the dial, which is openworked in the now-recognizable style of other Unico-equipped watches. Big, bold, eminently legible and filled with Super-LumiNova, these numerals alternate with thick bar indices for the main time display i.e., the current time in one’s location away from home, which is displayed by thick, partly skeletonized and luminous-filled pentagon-shaped hands. The running seconds tick away via a very thin, blue-lacquered central hand, whose counterweight is shaped like a Hublot “H” and whose tip elegantly glides past the indices on the blue inner scale.

Hublot Big Bang Unico GMT Carbon - Dial - scale
The time of day in the home time zone is clearly indicated on a central day-night scale.
Hublot Big Bang Unico GMT Carbon - Dial - Lume
Luminous material on the hour markers, and all three central hands, make for good nighttime legibility.

While the Big Bang Unico GMT is not a chronograph, it does have some chronograph DNA, and it is the inclusion of chronograph-type functionality that makes it so easy and intuitive to operate. Simply unscrew and pull out the rubber-coated, H-branded crown and set all three main hands — hour, minute, and GMT hand — to the correct local time. When changing time zones — as I did, from New York (EST) to Basel (CET) — simply push the pedal-like chrono-style pushers to move the local-time hour hand in one-hour increments in either direction while the minute hand and seconds hand remain unaffected. Because the gears for the minutes and seconds are not driven, it is not necessary to synchronize all of the hands with every change of time zone. Longtime fans of the Hublot brand may note that the rectangular shape of the GMT pushers resembles those of early Big Bang chronographs, thus differentiating them from the more button-like rounded pushers of modern Big Bang Unico models. Hublot has built a safety device into the mechanism preventing simultaneous activation of the two pushers.

Following the very intuitive design codes, the pusher at 2 o’clock moves the hand forward an hour, while the one at 4 o’clock moves it backward a hour. In a matter of moments, the triangle-tipped, luminous GMT hand will continue to point to the home time on the 12-hour bezel, while the main hour and minute hand will be set to the local time. If in a few days you are flying from, say, Basel to Tokyo, just click the pusher again until the hour hand moves to that city’s local time. Best of all for jetlagged wearers who may not want to do the math required of a more standard 24-hour GMT timekeeper, the dial’s day-night indicator allows one to see at a glance whether your home time is in AM or PM time. Divided into blue for night (matching the strap and the flange) and light gray for day (playing off the colors of the exposed Unico movement and the case’s carbon fiber pattern) — and, to make it even more idiot-proof, labeled as such also — this disk moves along with the hands, allowing a quick “day or night” reference for the home time.

Hublot Big Bang Unico GMT Carbon - Dial - Day-Night
The dark blue of the minutes scale and “night” sector of the day-night indicator matches the color of the strap.

The in-house-manufactured engine for all this ease of use is Hublot’s Caliber HUB1251 Unico, self-winding by means of a skeletonized rotor and amassing a power reserve of 72 hours. It is ensconced behind a carbon fiber caseback held fast by titanium screws and fitted with a sapphire window. The movement’s base, of course, is Hublot’s original Unico caliber, which has had its integrated chronograph components, including the column wheel, stripped out (as well as the typical skeletonized date disk, another addition by subtraction to keep the watch’s two time zone displays as simple as possible) and a patented, proprietary GMT module added. Perusing its micromechanical expanses with a loupe, one notes the matte finishing on the skeletonized, micro-blasted bridges, the balance oscillating at a speedy 28,800 vph, and the bidirectionally swinging, blade-edged rotor, running on ceramic ball bearings, which can be not only seen but heard while doing its work: hold the watch up to your ear, gently shake your wrist, and listen to the metallic rasps of the movement’s mechanical pulse.

Hublot Big Bang Unico GMT Carbon - Back
Caliber HUB1251 is on display through a sapphire caseback.
Hublot Big Bang Unico GMT Carbon - Movement 1
The self-winding movement’s 339 pieces include 41 jewels.
Hublot Big Bang Unico GMT Carbon - Movement 2
A stencil-cut “Unico” inscription adorns the rotor.
Hublot Big Bang Unico GMT Carbon - Movement - Balance
Visible amongst the skeletonized bridges, the balance oscillates at 28,800 vph.

As with many modern Hublot watches, the lugs, also crafted from carbon fiber, are integrated tightly into the structured rubber strap, which is deep blue in color and grooved like a racecar’s tires. Both the lugs and strap are designed in Hublot’s “One-Click” easy-change style, which allows for swapping out of straps at the simple push of a button — though the midnight blue strap that comes with this model is so perfect for it, I am not sure why anyone would feel the need to change it; perhaps a black rubber or dark gray version would work, though even these would leave the blue elements on the dial looking somewhat isolated and out of place. The watch securely fastens to the wrist with a double-folding titanium clasp with push-buttons, whose audible click assures the wearer that it’s locked and loaded for a day’s work.  If you’re looking for something understated to slip under your shirt cuff until it’s needed, this is not the timepiece — nor, let’s face it, the brand — for you. But if you want a reliable travel companion that offers a rare combination of user-friendly features — easy to read two time zones at once, easy to change time zones, easy to change straps, and enough power reserve that you shouldn’t need to worry about winding or re-setting it during most business trips — the Big Bang Unico GMT Carbon (retail price: $23,100) makes a compelling case to join you on your next sojourn.

Hublot Big Bang Unico GMT Carbon - Strap
The blue structured rubber strap detaches easily from the case lugs at the push of a button.
Hublot Big Bang Unico GMT Carbon - Wrist
The carbon fiber case and skeletonized movement make the watch rather lightweight on the wrist.
No Responses to “Borrowed Time: Hublot Big Bang Unico GMT Carbon”

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  1. Bruce Lavine

    I think Gerry is spot on—the watch is quite nice but ‘out of bounds’ over-priced relative to what it offers.

    Reply
  2. Dennis

    Can’t imagine anyone buying something so ugly, especially at the retail price of $23k.

    Reply
  3. Gerry Dimatos

    I really must confess that I just don’t understand or get Hublot as a brand. I’ve tried….
    I get the fusion of advanced materials and the overall design of the Big Bang series but $23K US for a 3 handed watch with GMT function ? This is no AP Royal Oak. A Rolex Daytona is roughly half the price of the Big Bang and is 10 Imes more desirable and you still can’t get your hands on one.
    Whilst Jean Claude Biver has done an amazing job marketing the brand and getting it to where it is today I feel the brand has no right or place to be more expensive than other long established brands who are still leading the way and can maintain their resale value.
    From Gerry Dimatos in Australia.

    Reply
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