Hublot Releases The Square Bang Unico - A New Take on Their Flagship Model
To kick off Watches & Wonders with a… Well, Bang (heh), Hublot has released 4 insanely interesting Unico’s with a square case shape.
“The square watch is a very specific object that most watchmakers dare not tackle. This is a divisive, disruptive, and unconventional shape that no one has known how to rework for decades: it was just waiting for us! Hublot decided to get to grips with the shape in order to explore its power and create a totally unique time piece. Like any Hublot, the Square Bang Unico has no equivalent! ”
RICARDO GUADALUPE
HUBLOT CEO
This new Square Bang is much squarier (which I know is not a word) than it’s predecessor. Nobody will accuse this iteration of the Big Bang Unico to be a Royal Oak copy. Instead, the new Hublot reminds us a lot of another heavy hitting watch, the Cartier Santos. Joking aside, this is actually a pretty nice looking group of watches from Hublot. Let’s get into it.
THE BASICS:
Brand : Hublot
Model :Square Big Bang
Case Material : Titanium, Black Ceramic, King Gold
Case Size : 42mm
Water Resistance : 100mm
Movement : In-House HUB1280 UNICO
Movement Specs: Automatic, Flyback Chronograph, 28,600 vph, 72 hours power reserve
Strap Options : Black Rubber StrapThe Juice
The Juice:
Hublot, as a brand, has too often gotten a bad rap in the industry. It’s mostly around a combination of price-point, lack of ingenuity, and obscene amount of limited editions. I’ve never found all the critique to be quite fair, as I can often point to many situations where the critical argument doesn’t hold up. This isn’t exactly one of those situations.
The Square Bang Unico is unique on a number of levels, and apparently presented the brand with it’s own set of challenges. For one, fitting the circular HUB1280 movement into a square case can be tedious, if not downright awkward. Many brands would be opt to just hide the movement behind the dial on the front of the case, but not Hublot. The movement is on full display, complete with the cool column wheel at 6 o’ clock. Indeed this is a well executed release from Hublot with one rather large caveat.
The watch square bezel looks oh so similar to the classic Cartier Pasha (one of my all-time favorites). Not only does the Square Bang have the square design, but even the screws on the bezel (though they are not all at the same position). Cartier’s more recent version of the Santos eschewed the completely square bezel for something a little more interesting, but the similarities remain (and its predecessor’s bezel looks almost identical to the Square Bangs’).
Hublot is no stranger to having their watches compared to heavyweights in the industry. The Big Bang and Classic Fusion are often compared to the Royal Oak and now the Square Bang Unico has design elements reminiscent of the Cartier Santos. That hasn’t stopped people from buying the brand in the past, and likely won’t in the future. It is up to the consumer to individually decide whether they think the watch can stand on its own.
I personally like the watch and think there are quite a few interesting and Hublot-esque features that set it apart. I will be interested to see one in person and try it on so I can form a more full opinion.
The watch has four different variations currently. Two in Titanium, including one with a black ceramic bezel, a full black ceramic case and bezel, and a king gold case and bezel.
How Much Does the Hublot Square Bang Unico Cost?
The Hublot Square Bang Unico is €22,700 for the titanium model, €23,800 for titanium with ceramic bezel, €42,500 for gold, €39,400 for gold with ceramic bezel and €25,900 for all black