In 2010, Hublot unveiled its first in-house movement, the Unico, a watershed moment that heralded a new era of technical prowess and aesthetic audacity for the brand. The Unico movement officially debuted as the HUB1240 caliber. It features a column-wheel chronograph with a double horizontal clutch, designed and manufactured entirely in-house, integrating a flyback function and showcasing Hublot’s watchmaking chops.

The movement was notable for positioning its column wheel and dual horizontal clutch on the dial side, providing a unique and visually striking experience. Ricardo Guadalupe, Hublot’s CEO at the time, articulated the philosophy behind it: the movement is the soul of the watch and is an integral part of the design. This design choice is not merely cosmetic; it serves to highlight the brand’s confidence in the movement’s precision and architecture.

Complementing its eye-catching visuals was a suite of useful features, including the flyback chronograph, 72-hour power reserve, silicon escapement, stylish anthracite-gray accents and modular construction. The first watch to feature the Unico movement was the Big Bang Unico, also launched at the 2010 Baselworld exhibition.

A standout aspect of the Unico movement is its modularity. The movement’s architecture is designed to accommodate various complications and adjustments. This flexibility allows Hublot to create a wide range of models without compromising on performance or reliability. The modular design also simplifies maintenance and repairs, which is a significant advantage for both watchmakers and owners. By incorporating such forward-thinking engineering, Hublot has ensured that the Unico movement remains versatile and adaptable to future innovations.

Precision and durability are at the heart of the Unico movement. Equipped with a silicon escapement, the movement benefits from reduced friction and increased longevity. Silicon’s anti-magnetic properties contribute to the movement’s robustness, ensuring consistent performance over time. The movement operates at a frequency of 28,800 vibrations per hour, the standard in modern mechanical watches.

The evolution: refining performance

Driven by an insatiable desire for continuous improvement, Hublot embarked on a journey to refine the Unico caliber, culminating in the unveiling of a new generation of automatic chronographs with flyback function in 2018. This updated iteration, the caliber HUB1280 or Unico 2, retained the essence of its predecessor while introducing a host of enhancements and simplifications.

At the heart of the caliber HUB1280’s evolution were five groundbreaking patents. These patents encompassed a diverse range of advancements, from a gentler winding mechanism that minimized wear and tear, to a faultless chronograph display that eliminated the dreaded jump and quiver often associated with traditional horizontal clutch systems.

The flyback function now allows switching between timing measurements with a single press, instead of three. You can activate the chronograph by pressing the top pusher. Then, go directly to the next sequence by pressing the bottom pusher, which will restart your chronograph with a new time measurement.

One remarkable innovation was a patented system that enhanced the chronograph’s performance by employing ceramic ball bearings and jewels, resulting in a friction torque that was not only constant, but also accurate to an unprecedented degree. This ingenious solution minimized energy consumption, translating into improved accuracy and overall performance.

Another key objective of the caliber HUB1280 was to streamline the assembly process, making it more efficient and user-friendly for the watchmakers at Hublot’s manufacture. This goal was achieved through a series of technical innovations, including a patented system that facilitated the adjustment of the balance spring’s active length, ensuring greater precision and accuracy.

The modernized architecture of the caliber HUB1280 incorporated a slimmer profile, reducing its thickness from 8.05mm to 6.75mm, thereby enabling its integration into a wider range of case designs. I personally prefer the Unico movement in a wearable 42mm case than the larger 45mm sized cases.

Finally, the Unico 2 caliber employs an innovative approach to the cannon pinion, effectively mitigating vibrational shock. This advancement not only safeguards the structural integrity of the timepiece, but also ensures its longevity and precision. As a result, Unico-powered watches are capable of withstanding substantial impacts without compromising the accuracy, making them exceptionally durable.

At the 2024 edition of Watches and Wonders in Geneva, Hublot unveiled a series of new Unico-powered watches. From the vibrant and striking color of the Big Bang Unico Orange Ceramic to the stealthy and tactical charm of the Big Bang Unico Dark Green Ceramic, these limited edition watches seamlessly fuse cutting- edge materials with the technical advancements of the Unico movement.

Big Bang Unico Ceramic in Bright Orange and Dark Green

The Big Bang collection, launched in 2005, was a turning point for Hublot. It marked the culmination of Jean-Claude Biver’s “Art of Fusion” philosophy, combining unexpected materials like ceramic, carbon and tantalum with traditional horological elements.

With its audacious color scheme, the Orange Ceramic is bright and bold, and its design is a result of meticulous planning, technical know-how and creative brilliance, embodying Hublot’s ethos of thinking outside the box.

The Hublot Big Bang Unico Green Ceramic, presented in a dark green colorway, exudes subtlety and sophistication — the complete opposite of the loud orange colorway. The deep green hue, paired with understated black elements, evokes a camouflage aesthetic, albeit without the traditional camo pattern. One imagines that the choice of dark green was inspired by the Swiss Jura mountains, reflecting Hublot’s deep connection to its Swiss heritage.

Crafting the Big Bang Unico Ceramic in a bright color like orange is a complex process that requires expert knowledge and skills. Its vibrant ceramic case is a result of a meticulously controlled and precise procedure, from the mixing of raw materials to the final polishing. It is also the reason that orange ceramic version is more expensive than the dark green ceramic version due to the complexity of manufacturing bright orange ceramic.

The ceramic is first shaped and baked at extremely high temperatures, transforming it into an incredibly hard material. The colored ceramic is then machined with diamond tools to get an exact shape and size. The resulting material is not only scratch resistant, but also lightweight and hypoallergenic.

The striking contrast between the orange ceramic case and the black composite resin lugs, coupled with the skeletal dial, gives the watch an irresistible charm. The case measures 42mm in diameter and is distinguished by the renowned six titanium H-shaped bezel screws and lugs on either side of the case, reminiscent of a ship’s porthole design.

The Big Bang Unico Ceramic watches are limited to 250 pieces in each colorway, featuring the Unico caliber at its core. This represents the latest generation of automatic flyback chronograph movement developed by Hublot. Offering a three-day power reserve (72 hours), it maintains the same distinct aesthetic signature: a column wheel at six o’clock, a bicompax layout (small seconds at nine o’clock and a 60-minute counter at three o’clock with an integrated date), a silicon escapement and a robust skeleton architecture.

Big Bang Unico Ice Bang

The Unico Ice Bang signifies a substantial advancement over its predecessor, the 2006 Ice Bang in black and gray. Hublot’s innovations in high-tech ceramics, coupled with the cutting- edge Unico movement, provide a notable enhancement to this timepiece.

The Unico Ice Bang features a 42mm case crafted from microblasted and polished black ceramic, offering 100 meters of water resistance. The case is lightweight and hypoallergenic, and it is complemented by a satin-finished and polished tungsten bezel. This combination creates a technical, almost industrial aesthetic with a subtle yet distinct contrast.

The openworked dial features two asymmetrical counters: the larger counter, located at the three o’clock position, houses a 60-minute register integrated with a date aperture. Opposite, at the nine o’clock position, a smaller skeletonized counter displays the running seconds. Both the Arabic numerals and hour markers, as well as the hands, are filled with Super-LumiNova for enhanced visibility.

The Ice Bang is equipped with two interchangeable black straps featuring Hublot’s patented One-Click system. For a sporty appearance, it comes with a Velcro mesh strap featuring a black ceramic buckle. For a smoother look, there is a striated black rubber strap with a black titanium folding clasp.

Unico Ice Bang is limited to 100 pieces and is available exclusively through Hublot’s e-commerce boutique.

Big Bang Unico Pink Sapphire

Hublot has extensively explored a diverse spectrum of colored ceramics, and the brand has demonstrated a similar commitment to innovation in the domain of colored sapphire cases.

Since 1902, colored synthetic sapphires have been available, thanks to the pioneering work of French chemist Auguste Victor Louis Verneuil. However, the process of melting sapphire remains complex and unpredictable. Due to the instability of its crystallization process, achieving uniformly colored sapphires, even when produced simultaneously, is challenging.

The formation of bubbles and cracks in the material often renders it unsuitable for high quality applications, such as producing Hublot’s Big Bang cases. The primary challenge lies in the size of the sapphires. To date, no colored sapphires exceeding 2kg have been produced. Nevertheless, Hublot has surpassed this limitation. By advancing the frontiers of engineering and chemistry, Hublot has developed an intricate and costly process that successfully produces large, transparent sapphires with perfectly uniform color.

Hublot achieved this by combining aluminum oxide with iron. The resulting colored sapphire retains all the original properties, including ultra scratch resistance, complete transparency and exceptional hardness.

The case middle, bezel and caseback are meticulously crafted from blocks of polished pink sapphire crystal. Titanium is utilized for the smaller components, including the screws, crown and pushers.

The watch showcases an openworked dial made from polished transparent composite resin, complemented by minute markings, hands and Arabic hour markers in a subtle light pink hue. Visible through the pink sapphire are the column wheel, mainplate and bridges in anthracite ruthenium, tungsten oscillating weight and the silicon escapement.

Accompanying the watch is a soft transparent pink rubber strap with a pink aluminum and stainless steel deployant buckle. The Big Bang Unico Pink Sapphire is limited to 100 pieces. It carries a hefty price that is much higher than that of the Big Bang Unico Ceramic due to the complexity of manufacturing colored sapphire cases, which remain relatively rare in watchmaking.

From its innovative design to its groundbreaking patents and captivating aesthetics, the Unico movement has not only redefined the art of watchmaking, but has also solidified Hublot’s position as a true vanguard in the industry. The latest additions to the Hublot Big Bang Unico collection further exemplifies the brand’s esteemed calling card of blending modern materials with avant-garde ingenuity.

Find out more at Hublot website.