King of Color. Ruler of Ceramic. Master of Sapphire. No one I’m aware of has ever used these titles for Hublot, but they may well have, for how the brand excels in the areas. Add Sorcerer of Bold for good measure. Anyway, when you Hublot announces a colorful trio of ceramic watches, it’s no longer so much of a “Wow Moment” as it is a “Well, Sure Moment.” That’s the situation with the Hublot Spirit of Big Bang Chronograph ceramic in three new colors, released this year as part of LVMH Watch Week 2025.
In fact, these colors aren’t even new to Hublot! As the brand helpfully tells us, all three — Beige, Dark Green, and Sky Blue — can be found on the round Big Bang. Hublot has simply given the same treatment to its tonneau Spirit of Big Bang collection. Already available in red, white, and yellow, the Spirit of Big Bang Chronograph has a micro-blasted and polished ceramic case that measures 42mm across and 14.1mm thick. That’s no small watch, but by now no one should expect Hublot to make small watches. Sandwiched between the colorful ceramic pieces, crown, and pushers, are offered in micro-blasted black ceramic. The watches have 100m of water resistance, a sapphire crystal, and are all paired with a matching structured rubber strap with a coordinating ceramic fold-over clasp. By pressing the black trapezoid on the top of the lugs, the straps can be easily released and swapped.
The skeletonized dial is color-matched to the case and sits atop a sapphire layer, through which the movement (not skeletonized) is visible. The hands, too, are int he same color, and there appears to be no sign of any lume, which I think is a bit of a shame here — how cool would it be to use 3D lume for all of the dial elements? Perhaps most intriguing is the stencil date wheel and the floating date window at 4:30.
I mentioned that the movement is not skeletonized, and it isn’t, but Hublot still says it is a “self-winding skeleton chronograph.” Even brands sometimes get things wrong. The HUB4700 is self-winding and it is a chronograph, but only the rotor is skeletonized. Based on the El Primero movement (Zenith is part of the LVMH family), the movement offers a power reserve of 50 hours at 36,000vph. It should be noted, though, that Zenith’s own El Primero chronograph movements now boast a power reserve of 60 hours.
Hublot is often an easy target for criticism, especially amongst those who haven’t spent time with an Hublot. These new models are more of the same for the brand, and will offer either more fodder for those who don’t get it, or further examples of the exciting things Hublot does for those who do. The Hublot Spirit of Big Bang Chronograph in dark green ceramic (Ref. 642.GX.5210.RX), sky blue ceramic (Ref. 642.EX.5110.RX), and beige ceramic (Ref. 642.CZ.6110.RX) are all priced at $27,400 USD and limited to 200 pieces each. For more information, please visit the Hublot website.