Hublot's Big Bang Integral, Now 40mm

January 24, 2022

The LVMH Watch Division is starting 2022 off with the latest edition of LVMH Watch Week, an online exhibition featuring new watches from Zenith, TAG Heuer, Hublot, and Bulgari, beginning Monday, January 24, 2022. Hublot is a young brand by the yardstick of the Swiss watch industry. Young enough that it missed the initial 20th-century volley of stainless steel sport watches on integrated bracelets. The Royal Oak (1972), Nautilus (1976), and 222 (1977) each set sail well before Hublot shook things up in its own way with rubber straps affixed to luxury watches in the very early '80s. The recent rise in popularity of the Nautilus, the Royal Oak, and the 222's successor, the Overseas, has led what feels like every brand in Switzerland to launch a watch with an integrated bracelet. And this includes Hublot, of course, whose entry into the category came as a chronograph with a name about as on-the-nose as it gets: Big Bang Integral. Today, Hublot is launching three new time-and-date Integrals in titanium, yellow gold, and black ceramic, each measuring a classic 40mm in diameter and 9.25mm thick with 100 meters of water resistance. The original chronograph versions were a bulkier 42mm. The black ceramic version is a limited edition of 250 pieces. What We Think While the name is extremely direct, I have to tip my hat to Hublot for managing to market a watch that not only ticks the boxes of a current trend from a design standpoint but also echoes it with an extremely literal name. While the Integral is clearly capitalizing on a trend, it appears also to carve its own path. Not one of these three watches is stainless steel, so it's really riding only half a trend. The 40mm diameter and 9.25mm thickness means it's the same diameter as a watch I wear often, my current-gen GMT-Master II, and actually a bit thinner, as well. The openworked dials lend it a technical and sporty look that ought to play well with Hublot fans, as will the choice of three materials, one more straight-up luxury and the other two more on the technical side of things.? In terms of price, these are a bit less than some of the watches you might expect the Integral to compete with, and the presence of a ceramic integrated bracelet makes drawing these comparisons a bit more interesting. The Basics Brand: HublotModel: Big Bang IntegralReference Number: 456.NX.0170.NX (Titanium); 456.VX.0130.VX (Yellow Gold); 456.CX.0140.CX (All Black)Diameter: 40mmThickness: 9.25mmCase Material: Yellow gold, titanium, or ceramicDial Color: Openworked dials with black elements for the All Black versionLume: YesWater Resistance: 100 metersStrap/Bracelet: Did you read the article or look at the pictures? The Movement Caliber: MHUB1710Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds, datePower Reserve: 50 hoursWinding: AutomaticFrequency: 28,800 vphJewels: 27 Pricing & Availability Price: Titanium: $17,800; Yellow Gold: $49,400. All Black: $19,900Limited Edition: Ceramic is limited to 250 pieces. All photos, Tiffany Wade Shop this story The HODINKEE Shop sells pre-owned Hublot watches; explore our collection here. For more, visit Hublot.Hublot is part of the LVMH Group. Although LVMH Luxury Ventures recently became a minority investor in HODINKEE, we maintain complete editorial independence.