What: Unlike United Colors of Benetton, high-tech ceramic watches don’t quite gel with the diversity movement to embracing colours. The usual suspects almost always come in white, black, blue and brown. Occasionally, there are some bright moments such as when Omega created a limited edition Seamaster Planet Ocean GMT in zesty orange in 2016 or when Rolex launched the GMT-Master II with its red and blue ceramic bezel in 2014 that earned the nickname “Pepsi bezel”.
So when Hublot announced that it has created the first full-on vibrant red (read: fire engine red) high-tech ceramic ticker, you take notice. That watch in question is the sporty Big Bang Unico Red Magic, which took the folks there four years to conceptualise and finish. It’s a feat for Hublot given that adding colours to ceramic watches are a pain to get right (they usually get patchy and ruined during the baking process of the case).
What’s new: Besides the in-your-face colour that you never get with watches of this kind, this piece is also hardier than its other high-tech ceramic peers. Add to that the fact that this category of timepieces are among the most resilient in the market, and you get one seriously tough cookie. In short: This watch is even harder to scratch and made for those who are rugged. No wonder then that Hublot has already patented this technology.
Why bother: You can’t deny the watch’s collectable cachet — it’s numbered to just 500 pieces. But beyond that, the physical properties of a tougher-than-usual ceramic timepiece that comes in a striking hue as this makes this Big Bang one serious conversation starter.
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