We welcome a new challenge that Hublot has overcome with the Big Bang Integral Minute Repeater Ceramic. This morning the world’s first ceramic watch with the queen of complications was unexpectedly unveiled: the minute repeater.
Let’s find out what’s special in this article.
The aesthetics of the two new Big Bang Integral Minute Repeaters
For those who know Hublot well, the aesthetics of their watches are now well defined, the classic round bezel with the protrusions at 3 and 9 o’clock recall the porthole of a ship, also thanks to the 6 screws placed on it.
In recent years, the Maison has worked on the creation of the first ever bracelet for the brand, creating the Big Bang Integral collection. Usually all Hublot watches have always been supplied with rubber or fabric straps, but in the case of the Integral, we see a bracelet with metal links or in this case ceramic.
The two new Hublot minute repeaters have a particular 43mm case in white or black ceramic, with a bracelet in the same material. The dial, like many Hublot models, is skeletonized and shows in this case a tourbillon at 6 o’clock.
The hands and indexes are coated in Superluminova in the same shade as the case, which makes them very clean and uniform. Finally, the thickness of the watch is 14.15 millimeters.
The challenge of the first Minute Repeater in a ceramic case
No brand before Hublot had tried to make a watch with this complication in a full ceramic case. For minute repeaters, other than tuning the gongs for a clear and excellent sound, the case is fundamental, the component that allows the sound to propagate.
Watchmaking, being very much linked to tradition, has always chosen the paths already trodden and which gave the best results in terms of acoustics, namely the gold cases. Platinum, on the other hand, has always remained in the background due to the difficulty in making the sound propagate outside the case, as well as in ceramic, an innovative and modern material in the sector.
The new calibe made by Hublot is a manually wound tourbillon with Cathedral minute repeater and an 80-hour power reserve. This particular type of minute repeater has a different symphony from the others, you can read our in-depth analysis on this article.
The mechanism has not been particularly refined in addition to the satin finish and polishing of the components, being Hublot a sports brand it is normal that the focus is not on these details but more on performance (although personally I would have liked to see something more).
Last surprising thing is the water resistance to 3 ATM (30 meters), which makes it resistant to splashes / rain. Most minute repeater watches, with a couple of exceptions, have no water resistance to allow the sound to travel out of the case.
From the audio we got to hear in a video, it looks like this new Hublot has a clear and crisp minute repeater, but we’ll be curious to hear it live for a final verdict.
Price and availability of the Big Bang Integral Minute Repeater
Both watches are limited to 18 pieces each (so 36 in total). The black ceramic model has reference 458.CX.1170.CX.YOS while the white ceramic model has 458.HX.1170.HX.YOS.
The retail price to the public is € 291,000.
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