A Notorious Sports Watch Just Showed Why It’s an Icon

Whether you like it or not, this sports watch changed the game.

Published April 7, 2025

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Hublot’s Big Bang first debuted in 2005
The watch is an icon of modern watchmaking, thanks to its experimental mixing of materials and its ushering in of the oversized trend
For 2025, Hublot is celebrating the two decades of the Big Bang with 25 new references that showcase the full spectrum of the line’s versatility

Most watch icons debuted in the 20th century. The Cartier Tank first arrived in 1917. The Rolex Submariner hit the scene in 1953, with the Omega Speedmaster coming four years later, in 1957. The relatively young Audemars Piguet Royal Oak made its debut back in 1972.

Few watches have been able to break through and reach icon status in the 21st century, with most brands content to relive their past glories from previous decades ad nauseam. The Hublot Big Bang is one of those few exceptions.

a sapphire hublot watch — Over two decades, the Big Bang has been a canvas for Hublot’s many experimental technologies, such as the Water Blue sapphire seen on this newly released Unico chronograph.

First appearing in 2005, the Big Bang was the perfect watch for the time. Big, bold and brash, it quickly became the poster child of the oversized watch trend of the 2000s and 2010s, and its unusual mix of materials — gold, ceramic, rubber and carbon fiber among them — blazed a trail for the mass material experimentation we see across the industry today.

This year, the Big Bang turns 20 years old, and Hublot is celebrating the birth of its flagship model with myriad new collections that showcase the full breadth and innovation of the Big Bang from the past two decades.

a complicated hublot watch — The most complicated of Hublot’s 20th-anniversary releases combines a tourbillon, minute repeater and chronograph.

Most impressive are two once-in-a-lifetime sets aimed squarely at high-end collectors. The Materials and High Complication Set contains five models made of different materials, including sapphire, ceramic and Texalium, a form of carbon fiber. Each watch houses a tourbillon movement, with some models also boasting chronograph and minute repeater complications. One model the — Big Bang Tourbillon Chrono Cathedral Minute Repeater — contains all three. The one-of-one set is priced at $1,099,000.

two hublot watches — The Master of Sapphire set includes five watches in different crystalline colors, including yellow Saxem and purple sapphire.

Slightly less extravagant is the Master of Sapphire set. Since releasing the first Big Bang with a sapphire case in 2016, the brand has gone ham on the ultra-hard material, crafting several new shades in sapphire and its chemically close cousin, Saxem. The new set features five Big Bang watches — four in sapphire and one in Saxem — all in different colors and each powered by a Meca 10 movement. This set can be had for a comparative bargain of $605,000.

five hublot big bang watches — The official 20th Anniversary Big Bang collection features five models, sold separately, that recall the original line from 2005.

There are tons of individual releases as well, from 20th-anniversary editions recalling the original Big Bang in titanium/ceramic, King Gold/Ceramic, Red Magic ceramic and others; a new colorful collection of bejeweled ladies’ watches called One Click Joyful; and more.

But my favorite of all is one of the more understated releases. Hublot has launched a pair of Big Bang Unico chronographs in two new shades of ceramic: Petrol Blue and Mint Green. Both come in at 42mm across the case and feature open-worked dials with color-matched highlights along with matching rubber straps equipped with Hublot’s excellent One-Click exchange system.

a man and woman wearing hublot watches — Petrol Blue is a new shade of ceramic from Hublot, appearing in Big Bang One-Click models for both men and women.

Both colors look great, and I’d happily wear either, but that Mint Green is something special. You can check out the full spectrum of Hublot’s 20th-anniversary Big Bang releases on the brand’s website.