This year prior to Baselworld, Hublot issued a press release announcing their new Big Bang Sapphire Tourbillon.

The brand has created numerous spectacular variations of the Big Bang in sapphire, so it’s easy to imagine how a tourbillon version would look. Or is it?

Sure, it’s got a sapphire case. That’s easy to grasp. It’s a Big Bang. We know them well. Clear rubber strap? Got it. But this is one of those rare instances where the whole does not equal the sum of its parts.  It’s so much more.

Deeper into the press release, Hublot mentioned that he movement was held together by crystalline structures, taking the concept of a skeleton movement to the next level. Now they have my attention.

Accompanied only by a computer rendering of the front of the watch, the press release still left a lot to the imagination.

It wasn’t until I held this piece in my hand that I realized the significance of the brand’s accomplishment. To describe it as a skeleton movement in sapphire is an obscene misrepresentation of a magnificent work of art. In fact, trying to describe this watch with the written word is futile and serves only to reveal the limitations of my vocabulary.

Well into my appointment with Hublot at Basel, Andrew and I were passing around watches, quickly snapping photos just in time to grab the next offering. I was completely caught off guard when this watch settled in my grasp. I held it with wonder and amazement at what laid before my eyes. It’s rare that I have such a visceral response to a piece, especially in the WISensory overload that is Basel.

With every twist and turn, it toyed with the light like a twin-turbo kaleidoscope powered by a flux capacitor. It’s like a theme park for light.

Simply put, this piece moved me. Of all the watches I had the honor to wear, photo or fondle at Basel this year, this is one I’ll remember.

My goal in writing this post was not to regurgitate features or specs, I’ll leave that to the press release below. My hope was to convey an emotion that can only be felt by seeing this timepiece - actually holding it and experiencing the visual-tactile bliss that emanates from its sapphire chassis.

Congratulations to the team at Hublot for once again raising the bar on their own creative and technical prowess!

So, without further adieu, here is the press release from the brand:

The new Big Bang Sapphire Tourbillon is completely transparent, including the case, dial, strap and tourbillon movement. The crystalline connections disappear to reveal the skeleton mechanics of the tourbillon, for which the cage is held in place by a strip cut from sapphire. Hublot’s innovation and research has once more broken through a glass ceiling when it comes to usage of sapphire crystal in watchmaking.

“Sapphire is hard and fragile at the same time, which opens up an infinite realm of possibilities. In recent years we have managed to industrialise it and to dye it in original colours. We are now going even further to perfect this unique expertise: creating detailed components from sapphire as well as high-tech polycarbonate.”

Ricardo Guadalupe, CEO Hublot.

The magic of the invisible

This Big Bang Sapphire Tourbillon forged from sapphire creates absolute transparency. Sapphire is the hardest and most durable material after diamond. For the first time, its skeleton movement and see-through connections are revealed through ‘invisibility’, where only a few metallic gears sketch out the contours. All of the parts are clear: the sapphire middle, bezel and the back of the case reveal crystal mechanics that seem to float. The dial and its numbers, index and power reserve indicator are all opalescent and flown over by perforated hands.

This 99-edition manufacture tourbillon represents a breakthrough in the technical and aesthetic use of sapphire. In addition to its 45 mm case, cut from a block of sapphire, the tourbillon strip is designed in the same material, which is almost indestructible. The new Hublot Big Bang Sapphire Tourbillon represents the Art of Fusion between clarity and purity. On the wrist the Big Bang Sapphire Tourbillon appears invisible with a transparent rubber strap, whilst revealing the inner mechanics of the watch.