IN-DEPTH: The Hublot Big Bang Unico Red Magic
The story in a second: It’s big. It’s red. It’s Hublot. Red is a colour with some pretty specific cultural meaning — danger, passion, excitement and love. And most of these emotions or associations are pretty applicable (danger, not so much) to Hublot’s latest hot piece, the Big Bang Unico Red Magic, a statement piece par excellence that impresses on so many levels. The case Yeah. We’ve got to start with the case. There’s just no avoiding it. This is an incredible watch case on many levels, including sheer brightness. This is a case that definitely lives up to the Big Bang name. And for all that this incredibly vivid, bright watch is as eye-catching as a red fire engine barrelling down main street with sirens and lights blaring, there’s more to this 45mm watch than ‘mere’ surface appeal. For starters, ceramic isn’t the easiest material to work with, and regardless of colour, the highly polished ceramic front and back plates, as well as bezel, is achievement enough. But the real party trick is just how Hublot has managed to achieve such a bright colour on ceramic, which is a tricky material. But Hublot are no slouches with material innovation…
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Editor’s note: Over the weekend, the GPHG was held in Switzerland, and Seiko took home the gong for best sports watch for the SLA025, which got us thinking about another excellent diver from this year, the not so lean, but very green Marinemaster redux, the SLA019J1 … With another contemporary nod to Seiko’s original hi-beat diver – the 1968 ref. 6159 – a familiar face has received a limited-edition update. Based on the venerable Seiko MM300 dive watch, this commemorative limited edition not only pays tribute to its vintage inspiration with a host of updates, but also to the lush green forests and abundant marine life that can be found around the island of Yakushima at the southern end of the Japanese archipelago. Vital statistics The one-piece 44.3mm case is now set off with a deep green dial and zirconia ceramic bezel. And Hardlex has been replaced by a sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating on both the inside and out. Giving life from within is the Seiko calibre 8L35 with 50 hours of power reserve. And the 5, 10, 15 and 20-minute markers on the bezel have been given an especially bright dose of Lumibrite to increase their presence in…
It’s fair to say that there’s a fresh new breeze blowing in Ulysse Nardin’s sails these days. There’s a new energy, which has resulted in some great new designs, and refreshed takes on old classics. Case in point is the Torpilleur, a marine chronometer styled watch, which takes its name — appropriately enough — from agile torpedo boats. It’s a watch we’ve looked at before, but the latest configuration is, if you’ll pardon my colloquialism, freaking hot. The blue dial is rich and satiny thanks to the starburst finish, crisply painted with white Roman numerals. The dial layout is neat, with power reserve up top, and seconds (with a smoothly integrated date) at the bottom. The notched bezel adds some texture and dynamism to an otherwise pretty classic 42mm case. Some of the other interesting design elements are the numbered plate on the left-hand flank of the watch, as well as the trademark metal link in the sporty rubber strap. A strap that, it must be said, completely changes the mood of the watch, which I’ve previously seen only on croc. The movement is about as in-house as it gets, all the way down to the silicon hairspring and escapement,…
A little under two weeks ago, Time+Tide threw a party. Ostensibly, it was to launch our new print publication, NOW. But really, you don’t need an excuse for a good party, and this was a good party, full of (very) good watches. Here’s what I spotted. Instagram heavyweight @Syn.Chronus also made it down to our office, sporting (probably my favourite of the night) his breathtaking two-tone Patek Philippe Nautilus Chrono reference 5980/1AR. Early on I was drawn to the wrist of Red Bar NZ founder, Jarrod. He happened to be in town to collect several rather special watches, including this amazing IWC Aquatimer Bronze Collectors Forum LE, which is limited to 250 units — so you won’t see them too often. Jarrod also happened to score his lucky number: 22. Another prolific watch collector, and Australian actor, Rodger Corser was in the building — sporting a sought-after Tudor Black Bay GMT. You might remember a video we created with him a couple of years back, where he shared his passion for watch collecting and his long-standing love for Tudor. Rodger’s particular love for the Black Bay GMT can be put down to its function, which comes in handy given the amount of travelling…