True Colours: Hublot’s Big Bang Unico Carbon Canada
Hublot & SHARP
At times, “Canadian-ness” can be a hard quality to pin down. Sure, many Canadians are generally united by a love of the great outdoors, hockey, and a certain treasured homegrown coffee chain, but beyond those well-worn tropes, what is it that makes us who we are? Part of the difficulty is the fact that — thanks to our country’s proud commitment to diversity — there’s no such thing as a typical Canadian. Yet capturing our country’s spirit was the challenge accepted by Hublot in creating the new Big Bang Unico Carbon Canada, the brand’s first-ever watch designed specifically for watch-loving Canadians. The result is a watch that pays subtle yet stylish tribute to the colours of the Canadian flag while delivering the refinement you’d expect from a Swiss luxury timepiece.
In creating the newest addition to the brand’s best-selling Big Bang family, Hublot could have stopped at simply integrating a maple leaf on the dial and leaving the rest of the model without much identity, similar to other Canadian-themed releases we’ve seen. Fortunately for Canadian watch collectors, however, the Big Bang Unico Carbon Canada delves far deeper, with a dynamic red and white colour scheme (white for our famous snowy landscapes and red for our autumn foliage, according to Hublot) on its dial, case, bezel, and strap.
The result is a cohensive design that runs through the entire model. Housed in a 42 mm matte black frosted carbon case, a set of punchy red subdials and hands complement a mix of red and white numerals on the skeletonized dial, while a matte red and white frosted carbon bezel provides visual contrast and texture. With a set of two straps (Hublot’s classic black rubber strap and a black calf strap with red and white stitching) to complete the look, the Big Bang Unico Carbon Canada has an undeniably Canadian feel. Like every Hublot Big Bang chronograph, the Big Bang Unico Carbon Canada is equipped with the brand’s famed automatic Unico chronograph movement. Featuring a column wheel and dual-clutch mechanism visible through its cutaway dial and a 72-hour power reserve, it boasts exceptional performance thanks to advanced components like a silicon escapement.
Introduced in 2010, the Hublot Big Bang Unico has become the brand’s favourite canvas for experimentation and creativity. The current collection numbers nearly 70 variations, from the sporty Big Bang Unico Integrated Titanium model to the spectacular new Big Bang Unico Green Saxem, with a case made out of an avant-garde material similar to sapphire and coloured with rare-earth elements. Despite the incredible variation in colours, materials, and finishing techniques, the star of the collection has always been the Unico Manufacture calibre movement made in-house by Hublot. Now in its second generation, and the holder of five patents for enhanced performance, accuracy, and shock resistance, the Unico movement is distinguished by the column-wheel mechanism visible through its dial and its flyback chronograph function. “Our aim is to reinvent watchmaking complications,” says Hublot CEO Ricardo Guadalupe. “On the Unico, having the chronograph mechanism on the dial side is a specific design feature enabling the column wheel to be visible. The movement — the soul of the watch — is an integral part of the design and the perceived value of high quality. It is unique.”
Limited to just 50 pieces (available at Hublot boutiques in Toronto and Vancouver), the Big Bang Unico Carbon Canada is the latest release in a tradition of Big Bang models dedicated to some of the brand’s favourite places around the world. These include tributes to Miami (with a skeletonized palm tree and a pastel gradient dial), Mexico (with a strap made from the Mexican agave plant), and Hawaii (with a dial and bezel decorated in a traditional Polynesian-inspired motif). In the same vein, for its Canadian tribute, Hublot once again avoided the low-hanging fruit of “Canadian-ness,” instead presenting a piece that lives up to the aesthetic and technical reputation of the Big Bang Unico while weaving in the refined, northern identities to make it resonate on this side of the border.
