In 2005, as Christopher Nolan rebooted the Batman franchise with Christian Bale, the world danced to Rihanna’s breakout hit Pon De Replay, and intrepid web browsers watched a video titled Me at the Zoo on a new platform called YouTube, designers at Hublot were adding the finishing touches to a watch they hoped would shake up the horology industry.
Launched at the Baselworld watch fair 20 years ago, the inaugural Big Bang did far more than that. The audacious and oversized watch drew a new roadmap, not only for Hublot but also for many other brands that felt compelled to re-examine the way they designed watches in light of this revolutionary timepiece.
Rather than pay homage to the time-honoured traditions of horology, Hublot’s 2005 Big Bang ripped up the rule book. Adhering to its bold Art of Fusion philosophy, the watch presented 18-carat pink gold, ceramic, rubber, and carbon fibre in a detailed, layered construction.
With its exposed screws, chequered dial, and ceramic bezel, the Big Bang simultaneously polarised, puzzled, and pleased the watchmaking community before going on to win the prestigious design award at Le Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève.
It became the flagship watch for Hublot, a rank it still holds today. Twenty years after the launch that marked a new era in watchmaking, Hublot is once again demonstrating its avant-garde mindset with the release of five Big Bang anniversary models.
Pushing the boundaries of creativity, the limited-edition quintet revisits milestones in Big Bang history while bringing the story up to date by linking to the present-day Big Bang Unico. Hublot CEO Julien Tornare believes the new collection “bridges the nostalgia of 20 years ago with the present and future of what the Hublot manufacture is capable of accomplishing”.
Honouring the original 2005 models, the new collection comes equipped with a redesigned case featuring the distinctive sandwich construction, pinched lugs, and knurled bezel edge. Naturally, dials engraved with carbon-fibre-inspired relief make a return, as do the riveted Arabic numerals and indexes, which, in a break from the original pieces, have been filled with Super-LumiNova for brilliant legibility.
Also staying true to the original design are the two counters for the chronograph function and constant seconds. The anniversary watches, however, are now driven by the Unico automatic manufacture chronograph movement, with a gold rotor commemorating the model’s 20th anniversary.
Back in 2005, the appearance of a rubber strap on a luxury watch raised eyebrows, but the beloved strap with its treaded lozenge pattern is a key aspect of the new timepieces. It is fastened using Big Bang Unico’s One Click strap-change mechanism integrated in the case.
The new quintet offers something for every Hublot fan. For the understated, the All Black is stealthy and mysterious, living up to its ‘invisible visibility’ tagline upon its release in 2006. Limited to 500 pieces, the reimagined 43mm piece has a case of matte and polished black ceramic with a black carbon-patterned dial, marking the first time such a combination has occurred in a Big Bang All Black model.
More flamboyant is Red Magic, an eye-catching watch limited to 100 pieces. Hublot has long been the pioneer of colouring ceramic, a notoriously volatile pursuit that requires skill in the fields of temperature, pigment and pressure. Its first foray into this complex practice came in 2018 with a dynamic red hue that has been recreated in 2025.
Building on this chromatic innovation, Hublot has also unveiled two new ceramic tones: Petrol Blue and Mint Green. Unisex and effortlessly sophisticated, these shades debut across the Big Bang Unico 42mm and Big Bang One Click 33mm models. Petrol Blue channels oceanic depth and forest calm, while Mint Green radiates cool serenity, both encapsulating Hublot’s mastery of colour and material.
Scratches and oxidisation stand no chance against Magic Gold, a ground-breaking material that was introduced by Hublot in 2011 as the world’s first and only scratch-resistant 18 carat gold alloy. Limited to 100 pieces, the Magic Gold edition features a carbon-patterned dial with gilt hands and markers that lend the watch an undeniably luxurious feel.
The final pair – Titanium Ceramic and King Gold Ceramic – are limited to 500 and 250 pieces, respectively. Both watches carry the vintage rubber-tipped rectangular pushers, plus the rubber strap and chequered dial, tweaked to provide more presence.
Worn by the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Usain Bolt, Depeche Mode, DJ Snake and Novak Djokovic, the Big Bang epitomises both Hublot’s audacious attitude and technical skill.
“The Big Bang is undoubtedly one of the modern icons of 21st-century watchmaking,” says Tornare. “Its influence has reshaped the potential of what a watch can be, crossing all boundaries between tradition and modernism, science and art.”
Iconic, playful and innovative, the Big Bang has earned its place in the horology hall of fame and, with these new anniversary models, Hublot cements its position as a true pioneer that revels in disrupting the status quo.
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