Hublot calls the material at the heart of its newest Big Bang Unico flyback chronograph edition “vibrantly colored ceramic,” but the rest of us call it like we see it: red of the richest fire-engine variety. Regardless of how we describe the Red Magic watch, this much is true: The watchmaker has taken its philosophy of fusion—representing a bold combination of materials and alloys—to a new extreme with this world first, a 45 mm watch case and bezel made entirely of red ceramic.
Four years in the making, the patented material—which also makes an appearance on the flange, indexes, minute and seconds counters, Arabic numerals, and hands of the timepiece—is enriched with a superior hardness of 1500 HVI compared to 1200 HV2 for conventional ceramics. The theme continues with a lined structured red rubber strap.
Meanwhile, the Unico HUB124 manufacture movement and its column wheel, visible on the dial side through the sapphire crystal, does the hard work of powering the watch, whose 330 components, frequency 4 Hz (28,800 Vib/h), and 72-hour power reserve are horologically impressive.
With its proprietary coloration technique, Hublot is poised to introduce even more vibrantly colored ceramics to its range. But don’t miss out on this red-hot edition of 500 pieces, sure to be a collector’s darling.
Hublot Big Bang Unico Red Magic, $26,200; hublot.com