HANDS-ON: The Hublot Big Bang Chrono Perpetual Calendar

The story in a second:

Hublot add an extra ingredient into their trademark fusion recipe – a perpetual calendar. The resulting watch is still full of big flavour hits but now comes with a smooth and mellow aftertaste.

Age has affected the Big Bang; made it more mature, given it depth. When it was first introduced a decade ago you knew what you were getting; a joltingly fresh combination of materials, bold sporty case and a chronograph. This was the formula of fusion that won the world over to the Hublot Big Bang.

But now Hublot have added some new elements to the formula. We should have seen the signs (like the Classic Fusion Moonphase), of a newly confident and complicated Big Bang – an evolution of the philosophy of fusion, but now, along with the juxtaposed materials, we’re throwing a typically refined perpetual calendar complication into the aggressively masculine case of the Big Bang, and adding a skeletonized dial in for good measure.

And it works. The Big Bang Chrono Perpetual Calendar is a good looking watch, and unmistakably a Big Bang. The watch packs the triple threat combo of chronograph, perpetual calendar and moonphase complications – which makes it what the industry refers to as a ‘Grande Complication’. This is a very traditional expression of watchmaking excellence most often made by classical masters like Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin and Audemars Piguet.

The genius of Hublot’s first ever perpetual calendar is that it challenges what you expect from a grande complication, and doesn’t compromise on the fundamental style and philosophy of the Big Bang. Sure, this means that the dial of the watch is a little on the busy side, especially as, to conserve space they’ve put both calendar and chronograph complications on the subdials at six and nine (the chronograph scales and hands are highlighted in red, while the calendar are white). But Hublot have never been about pared back minimalism.

The Big Bang, in much the same way as famed Hublot wearer Jay-Z, has grown up, gotten comfortable, maybe even mellowed out a little. But the Big Bang, like Hova, still remembers and honours where it comes from.

Hublot Big Bang Chrono Perpetual Calendar Australian pricing

The Perpetual Calendar is available in titanium and ceramic or King Gold and ceramic. The titanium version has a retail price of $68,600.

Images by Kristian Dowling/Time+Tide Images.