It’s not often that a grey watch is released to fanfare, but given Hublot’s history of often colourful ceramic releases, it’s actually quite cool to see a reminder of what they can do with old fashioned metal. Although metal may be an unusually standard material for a limited-edition Hublot release, the Hublot Big Bang Unico Essential Grey is by no means standard. Using a full titanium case, the watch takes on an industrial grey hue to match its shape, as well as lightening the wearing experience.
The Big Bang Unico case is comparable to brutalist architecture, with a monolithic presence whose rigid lines are polished for definition around the brushed, utilitarian surfaces. Pushers emerge from the right side of the case’s wings like an odd cubic crystal growth, and the monochromatic nature of the whole package brings even more of a charming chaos to the level of detail on offer. The lines between the case, straps, and the skeletonised dial are almost eliminated in this grey configuration, ensuring a cohesive versatility that can adapt to both formal and casual outfits. The 42mm diameter and a slightly overreaching 52mm lug-to-lug length makes it an intentionally bulky wear, but the titanium choice means that it feels much lighter than you’d expect, plus the 14.5mm thickness isn’t too impractical.
The dial of the Hublot Big Bang Unico Essential Grey is structured with incredible depth, as it incorporates legibility into the framework of the skeletonised Unico movement. The Arabic numerals on the even numbers are in Hublot’s classic military stencil style, imbuing the watch with a casual aggression. Beneath them you can spot the grey date wheel circumnavigating the dial, as well as the column wheel given pride of place just above 6 o’clock. With not much of an actual dial to speak of, the Hublot logo has been printed on the underside of the sapphire crystal.
The two strap options are both appealing and equally easy to swap between thanks to Hublot’s One Click system, with a ridged rubber strap and a silvery fabric and Velcro strap that almost looks like a Milanese bracelet. Powering the Hublot Big Bang Unico Essential Grey is of course, the Unico 2 movement. Also known as the HUB1280, this in-house calibre includes automatic winding, a flyback chronograph, a 28,800 vibrations per hour beat rate and 72 hours of power reserve. It gives a pleasing view from the display caseback too, with an extremely skeletonised rotor so you can see all of the moving parts within the watch.
Just in time for summer, Swiss watchmaker Hublot unveiled the Hublot Big Bang Unico Essential Grey, a monochrome and satin-finished timepiece carrying the unmistakable design of the original Big Bang Unico model. Housed in a 42mm satin-finished titanium case with a skeletonized dial, at the heart of the timepiece is the HUB1280 UNICO manufacture self-winding chronograph flyback movement with column wheel and 72 hours of power reserve.