Hublot’s Latest Innovation: A Colorful New Patented Ceramic [Video]
It took Hublot 2 years of research and development to create Magic Gold, the world’s only scratchproof gold, which has its own signature bronze-like hue. Now, after 4 years, the Swiss watchmaker has unveiled another new patented material—a bright and densely colored ceramic. The Hublot Big Bang Unico Red Magic, limited to just 500 pieces, will be available in other colors in the future. The material was first debuted in Hublot’s Ferrari Unico Carbon Red Ceramic, where it was featured on the bezel, but the new Unico Red Magic marks the first time the brand has used the polished ceramic on the main case of a watch.
Achieved through a sintering process that combines pressure and heat without burning the pigments, the result is a bright, in-your-face red. “Big Bang” is more than a collection name; it’s also an accurate descriptor of Hublot’s personality and approach to watchmaking. Big and bold is Hublot’s modus operandi—it’s that aesthetic that draws in big names like the Miami Heat’s Dwayne Wade, the New York Giants’ Eli Manning, and boxer Floyd Mayweather as brand ambassadors. But this timepiece is about more than showing off. Aside from its attention-grabbing finish, the material, like its Magic Gold invention, is both innovative and highly durable. The process of creating the ceramic produces an exceptionally dense material with a hardness of 1,500 HVI (a standard measurement in the Vickers hardness test) as compared to 1,200 HVI typical in most ceramics.
The Big Bang Unico Red Magic is 45 mm in diameter with a 15.45 mm case and features a skeletonized dial with a black-and-red-lined rubber strap and a 72-hour power reserve. The flange, indices, minute and second counters, and Arabic numerals all match the case’s red ceramic, and the timepiece features the Unico HUB124 flyback chronograph movement with a column wheel visible through the dial. Retailing for $26,200, the Red Magic timepiece will be available in May.
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