Editorial Hublot New Releases New Watches Reviews Spirit of Big Bang

Find out what happens when Hublot rock(ie)s Aspen

Hublot as the official timekeeper of Aspen Snowmass has recently launched the Spirit of Big Bang Special Edition Rockies.

Find out what happens when Hublot rock(ie)s Aspen

Courtesy Hublot
© 2018 HUBLOT – ALL INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS RESERVED

Hublot as the official timekeeper of Aspen Snowmass has recently launched the Spirit of Big Bang Special Edition Rockies.

Prestige meets luxury

When one thinks of Aspen — a popular North American ski destination — among others words such as cold, windy, snowy, a particular one comes to mind: prestigious. Now when one thinks of Hublot, among other words such as unique, different, fusion, another word comes to mind: luxury

And what better marriage in the world of fine watchmaking than that of prestige with luxury. 

Hublot Spirit of Big Bang in the snow
Spirit of Big Bang 42mm Special Edition Rockies
Courtesy Hublot
© 2018 HUBLOT – ALL INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS RESERVED

Spirit of Big Bang Rockies launch event

Enters Hublot with its latest creation, the Spirit of Big Bang Special Edition Rockies at the opening of it’s first U.S. mountain-resort boutique.

To mark the momentous occasion, friend of the brand Bode Miller, an Olympic Gold Medalist and world champion, helped kick off the celebrations. Bode Miller was joined by Jean-Francois Sberro, President of Hublot North America, in launching this 25-piece limited run watch. 

Bode Miller At Hublot Aspen Boutique Opening 5 Jpg.
Bode Miller at Hublot Aspen boutique opening
Courtesy Hublot
© 2018 HUBLOT – ALL INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS RESERVED

I am excited to be joining Hublot again as they continue to bring the brand’s culture of excellence to Aspen.” – Bode Miller

Courtesy Hublot
© 2018 HUBLOT – ALL INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS RESERVED

This limited edition watch release follows the trend Hublot has developed by forging strong relationships with leading luxury ski resorts around the world including Courchevel 1850 in the French Alps and Zermatt in Switzerland. Hublot has in the past also released dedicated limited editions affiliated with both resorts. 

Jean Francois Sberro And Bode Miller At Hublot Aspen Boutique Opening 3 Jpg 2.
Jean-Francois Sberro and Bode Miller at Hublot Aspen Boutique opening
Courtesy Hublot
© 2018 HUBLOT – ALL INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS RESERVED

Hublot has developed strong relationships with leading ski destinations around the world, so we are proud to be opening the first North American mountain-resort boutique in the iconic city of Aspen. We are looking forward to developing our relationship with this incredible city and are grateful for Bode Miller’s continued support.”  -Jean-Francois Sberro, CEO Hublot North America

Courtesy Hublot
© 2018 HUBLOT – ALL INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS RESERVED

Context

Founded in Switzerland in 1980, Hublot is perhaps best known for its signature “Art of Fusion” which began with the highly original combination of two materials no one thought would fit together: gold and rubber.

The road to the design of this Spirit of Big Bang Special Edition Rockies began in 2005 with the release of the now iconic, multi-award-winning Big Bang that expanded into a universe of its own with the likes of Classic Fusion & Spirit of Big Bang series.

Design

The Spirit of Big Bang Special Edition Rockies features a white ceramic case and blue lined rubber strap that explains the above mentioned style of the signature Art of Fusion.

It has been designed keeping in mind the slopes and skiers. The high-tech material used — ceramic- zirconium dioxide with high temperature sintering — provides for a hard and solid case resistant to scratching and ageing. It is also lighter than steel. 

If you look at the design of the iconic tonneau case of the watch, it seems to mimic the quintessential colours of a ski season, snow white against clear blue skies. There are of-course other design parallels that can be drawn with Richard Mille’s iconic designs as well, but this is a topic for another day. 

As a watch, the Spirit of Big Bang Special Edition Rockies stands firmly independently on its feet, and that’s what counts. 

Spirit of Big Bang Rockies
Spirit of Big Bang Rockies
Courtesy Hublot
© 2018 HUBLOT – ALL INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS RESERVED

Movement

The dial is pretty busy and it could get hard to notice, but the Spirit of Big Bang Special Edition Rockies has a manufacture self-winding chronograph movement — HUB4700 comprising of 270 components, beating at the high frequency of 5Hz (36’000 A/h), allowing for a generous (roughly) 50 hour power reserve — that adds further to the sporty feel and skiing use with regards to timing. 

If you wish to look at detailed specifications for this watch, we have a separate technical specs review under our ‘Sneak Peek’ category accessible here for easy reference.

Spirit of Big Bang Rockies
Bode Miller at Hublot Aspen boutique opening
Courtesy Hublot
© 2018 HUBLOT – ALL INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS RESERVED

Suggestions

If I was to change one thing, it would be to hide the date number ring as it just adds to the busyness of the dial.

In my opinion all sports watches should have extremely high legibility, and somehow this one seems to miss that a bit. I figure it goes against the exisiting design colour coding of white and blue Hublot was going with, but if they had introduced a bit of colour to the otherwise white luminescent hands, that would have added further to the legibility. 

Ignoring these concerns though, the watch is a stunner, especially if you are buying it (which you have to given its location & availability) surrounded by the context of clear blue skies and snowy mountains.

This one somehow just feels right at home where it was launched. 

Spirit of Big Bang Rockies
Spirit of Big Bang Rockies jpg
Courtesy Hublot
© 2018 HUBLOT – ALL INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS RESERVED

#WatchYaGonnaDoAboutIt assessment 

The Spirit of Big Bang Special Edition Rockies is a good looking sports watch release.

It is classically built in the Hublot design language and has the added advantage of a date and chronograph. The use of microblasted and polished white ceramic makes it a unique material piece and the 25 number limited edition part makes it very exclusive.

The size of 42mmx 14.1mm does come off as bit big especially for anyone under 16.5cm wrist size and hence this watch doesn’t make it to our Fusion Friday list. The decently high water resistance — 100m — means you can go for light swimming and you can wash you hands comfortably with it on. This is good as the watch is designed to be worn at snowy mountains. It doesn’t make our His+Her list due to the sizing of the watch but it does rate very high on our Rate-a-Mate scale, so be sure to check out why here.

Given that the watch only comes in a limited number of only 25 pieces, it can make it a highly sought after item for skiing fans. But it does cost 26’700 USD so it’s not a cheap watch.

That said, a true Hublot fan with this kind of spare cash should simply go for it. After all it’s combining the prestige of Aspen with the luxury of Hublot.

Rate-a-Mate1300

Fusion FridayNo

His+HerNo

Grail-o-meterHigh

You can also check out our cool Infographic on this watch here.

For more information on this and other Hublot watches, head to the Hublot website here.

Spirit of Big Bang Rockies
Spirit of Big Bang Rockies
Courtesy Hublot
© 2018 HUBLOT – ALL INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS RESERVED

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