Get out your cowbell because Hublot has just launched a watch that is absolutely stunning and is made of deep purple sapphire.
Oh, and it costs $200,000.
Just announced at Watches & Wonders, the Big Bang Automatic Tourbillon Purple Sapphire is a beast of a watch with case made of colored sapphire. The watch features a tourbillon movement and is nearly completely skeletonized for optimum viewing of the complex movement.
More than just a colour, this new version is nothing but revelatory. It reveals a watchmaker tirelessly pursuing its Research & Development which has made it one of the leading and most disruptive watch brands of the new millennium. Each new colour is the result of a very subtle alchemy in order to combine a powerful, expressive and precise shade, which is at the same time translucent and perfectly homogeneous within the mass of a highly- complex case. This new purple tint is a composite made of Al2O3 (aluminium oxyde) and chrome.
It also reveals a vision, a spark: one in which the doors of tomorrow’s watchmaking techniques are opened today. By combining a traditional complication (the tourbillon) with a disruptive material (sapphire) in a totally exclusive colour, Hublot reaffirms its motto: to be first, unique and different. The watchmaker breaks down all the barriers between tradition and modernity to merge substance and form, style and technique. The new Big Bang Tourbillon Automatic Purple Sapphire does the unthinkable: when wearing its Tourbillon next to the skin, you have the sensation of a completely translucent case that reveals every detail.
The watch is limited to 50 pieces and has a big 44mm face and a 14.5 mm thickness. The watch has a transparent purple rubber strap – you know, to match the case – and, honestly, if you I wasn’t looking hard I’d think this is some kind of wild Casio collab rather than a piece of haute horology. That said, it’s a great treat for the oligarch in your life so pick one up when you can.
