Back in 2018 at Baselworld, Swiss watchmaker Hublot has announced the debut of a brand new Big Bang UNICO watch. The big news is that it was presented as a limited edition collection with a red ceramic case and bezel. The new Hublot Big Bang UNICO Red Magic was limited to only 500 pieces, and its desirability amongst luxury watch collectors stems from the difficulty in manufacturing a good-looking and consistent ceramic case in red.
While black and white ceramic is a fairly simple procedure for watchmakers, and brown and blue have become increasingly popular, red ceramic has been notoriously difficult to produce as it has tended to end up blotchy and discoloured. Hublot has a history of making a variety of interesting materials, including a gold alloy mixed with ceramic known as Magic Gold, at their materials lab in Switzerland, and this is where the brand has been perfecting the red ceramic. The watchmaker has said that the Red Magic ceramic is around 300 Vickers tougher than standard zirconium dioxide ceramic materials, and this helps Hublot produce the bright, uniform cherry red colour and improve the case’s scratch resistance.
Furthermore, the brand has said that the red-coloured ceramic produced by Hublot Research & Development was produced totally in-house and that the process they used to achieve to produce it has now been patented. The method includes a combination of high-pressure and heat during the sintering process, and Hublot claims that it works for more colours other than red, so the Big Bang UNICO Red Magic may prove to be the first of a continuing collection of colour-themed ceramic watches. The red ceramic case measures at 45mm wide and 15.4mm thick with an impressive water resistance of 100 metres. The red motif continues on the black dial, with the hands and hour markers enhancing the watch’s legibility thanks to their matte red colour scheme. The Big Bang UNICO Red Magic is finished with a removable black and red rubber strap. Under the dial and powering the watch is the automatic Hublot UNICO calibre HUB 1242 chronograph movement, which operates at 4Hz and provides 72 hours of power reserve. The Hublot Big Bang UNICO Red Magic will debut at Baselworld 2018 and will be a limited edition collection of 500 pieces.
