Luxury Lifestyle Magazine For The Affluent
TIMEPIECES
Big Bang Unico Berluti Aluminio by Hublot and Berluti
The Big Bang Unico Berluti Aluminio is a limited edition watch that is unique.
◙ By D’Affluent Magazine
The five years’ collaboration of Hublot a well-known watchmaker, and Berluti; a prestigious leather maker that manufactures menswear based in Paris, recently came to a unique creation. Having embarked on an exploration of grey in various shades. Hublot and Berluti’s creative exercise produced a new limited edition run of a hundred (100) pieces; the Big Bang Unico Berluti Aluminio.
The new Big Bang Unico Berluti Aluminio may sound like an aluminium watch because of the word Aluminio, but it is not. The timepiece is actually made of titanium and leather. Aluminio is one of the colours that Berluti has in its range – colour of their leather. Hublot and Berluti leveraged their shared know-how and provided an understated, elegant, monochrome and timeless piece. It is indeed a Big Bang for true collectors and connoisseurs.
“This new Big Bang Unico Berluti Aluminio isn’t quite what people were expecting – so, of course, that’s why we made it! In an urban style, it reflects the smooth, satin tones of the concrete that adorns the greatest cities. Understated but technical, monochrome but packed with nuance, it explores some very minimalist creative ground that we are not used to travelling. A piece that many will find surprising!”
– Ricardo Guadalupe, HUBLOT CEO
The Big Bang Unico Berluti Aluminio shows of its heart featuring Unico’s mechanical prowess.
The emblematic patinated Venezia leather is at the heart of the polished titanium bezel as well as on the dial, where the indices and words “Swiss Made” are gauffered directly on the surface, giving it a remarkable look. The leather itself is held between two pieces of sapphire glass. Below them the gears of the Unico movement is revealed featuring its technical prowess.
“This Big Bang Unico Berluti Aluminio is a new expression of our collaboration with Hublot. Working in monochrome is a very demanding exercise in patina, finish and play of light to give the watch its volume. Once again, the combination of our emblematic Venezia leather and Hublot’s watchmaking expertise brings about a unique, subtle and contemporary result.”
– House of Berluti
Leather naturally has its own unique hues. Working with Berluti; an expert in leather, a technique was developed to encapsulate the unique beautiful hues of the leather used, crystalizing them in time. By doing so, their beauty is rendered in an authentic and unchanging manner. The straps symbolize the perfect fusion of the two worlds and it is available in two versions: one in burnished Aluminio Venezia leather; another in patinated Aluminio Venezia leather with the Scritto motif, exclusively for Japan.
Leather by Berluti engineered into the Big Bang Unico Berluti Aluminio by Hublot – Beautiful.
Aluminio is one of Berluti’s signature patinas. It perfectly transcribes the light onto the different tones of the Venezia leather. For the Big Bang Unico Berluti Aluminio watches, Hublot created a two-part bezel design. Berluti’s leather, about 1mm thick is secured to the first piece of the bezel with a type of sticky and rigid resin. This bezel is then inserted into the second piece that is in grey titanium. This assembly is then screwed onto the case of the watch, allowing the bezel to be patinated in time, just like the strap.
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With over 40 years of watch making and ground breaking designs, Hublot Manufacture has a vast palette of materials at its disposal to choose from when it came to bringing the patinated Aluminio Venezia leather into harmony with its mechanical ensemble. Hublot chose to go with titanium for the 44-mm case and its deployant clasp, resin for the central horn, tungsten for the oscillating weight, and satin-finished rhodium for the hands.
Berluti specializes in leather and menswear. With some of the best leather, the Big Bang Unico Berluti Aluminio is born.
Working with leather inside the watch is not an easy feat. Having mastered the full spectrum of watchmaking materials, Hublot was thus able to create a Big Bang that was perfectly tuned to the nuances of the patinated Berluti leather.
In whole, the Big Bang Unico Berluti Aluminio is a thing of absolute beauty. The watch reveals part of its beating heart thanks to the two cut pieces of sapphire glass that holds the leather on the dial-side. By doing so, the gears of the Unico movement, an authentic manufacture self-winding Flyback chronograph with three full days of power reserve can be admired. Being a rare and contemporary piece, the Big Bang Unico Berluti Aluminio will be delivered in a special case with a travel pouch, and a shoehorn key ring with the Berluti logo.
The Big Bang Unico Berluti Aluminio with its special case, and a shoehorn key ring with the Berluti logo..
*Photos and information courtesy of HUBLOT SA
Luxury Lifestyle Magazine For The Affluent