Novak Djokovic's Latest Watch Is a Total Knockout

Photographs courtesy of Hublot

On Monday night, at a glitzy ceremony in Madrid, Novak Djokovic won the Laureas World Sportsman of the Year award. It was the 36-year-old Serb’s record-equalling fifth time receiving the honor, a nice achievement to list on his CV alongside his 24 Grand Slam titles and current world number-one ranking in men’s singles tennis. Djokovic is unquestionably one of the world’s greatest athletes—and also, as it happens, one of the world’s great watch brand ambassadors.

At the event in Madrid, Djokovic paired his elegant, shawl-collared tuxedo with a timepiece from Hublot, with whom he’s had a partnership since 2021. And the watch he chose to wear to accept his latest trophy? A Spirit of Big Bang All Black Pavé 42 mm. Part of the Swiss brand’s flagship Big Bang family of watches, you might mistake it—with its tonneau-shaped case and skeletonized, high-tech aesthetic—for a Richard Mille. And you might also, at first glance, be wondering about the whole “Pavé” thing. Where are the diamonds, exactly, on this black-on-black beast?

Look closer: Even the 50 diamonds set into the bezel are black. These, when combined with a 42 mm microblasted black ceramic case, a black rubber strap, a black crown, and black-gray hands and indices, would be enough to make one question the watch’s legibility. But the skeletonized dial, which gives a window into the automatic movement beneath, is cleverly arranged to leave space for the indices on its periphery. And thanks to the gray elements in the hands and hour indices, making out the time is perfectly feasible. (Reading the chronograph totalizers, which are activated using two paddle-type pushers on the right-hand case flank, might be tougher.)

Interestingly, the caliber powering this bold creation, the HUB4700, is a modern successor to Zenith’s famous El Primero automatic chronograph movement from 1969. Boasting silicon parts and 50 hours of power reserve, it continues the legacy of that notable, high-frequency engine, which kicked off the modern automatic chronograph craze.

As a Hublot brand ambassador, Djokovic has been spotted in other cool models over the years—including, recently, the Big Bang Unico Yellow Magic, which is sort of the All Black Pavé 42 mm’s chromatic opposite. Previously an ambassador for Audemars Piguet and Seiko, he’s made the rounds through maisons both high-end and more approachable. For now, Hublot seems to suit him—even if a skeletonized, 42 mm, black pavé diamond-studded tonneau is the last watch you might expect to see paired with a tux.

Originally Appeared on GQ