Hublot

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Hublot - King Power Review

I spent a while on here reading all about Hublot and now I have purchased one & worn it for a while I thought I would write a little review in case it helped others decide. I I wouldn’t normally bother writing a review but I thought this watch was sufficiently different & impressive to merit some words and pictures, so here goes…

This rather large (OK huge) 48mm King Power case dictates the agenda for the whole watch and just putting it on is an occasion, the sheer scale of it (even if it wasn’t made by Hublot) means the wach is certain to polarise opinion. The 48 mm measurement does not include the crown so in reality it is a fair bit larger, it is also 18mm thick, so I certainly don’t feel is suitable as an only watch. After getting over the initial shock of the size I was pleasantly surprised by its weight, 161 grams, or about the same as a SS Rolex – demonstrating firstly just how much metal is still in the watch (the strap is rubber after all) but also the good job they have made of using lightweight materials where possible. The strap & clasp work really well & the watch sits nicely on the wrist & doesn’t actually feel top heavy or try to move about when worn.

Fans of Douglas Adams may recall Hotblack Desiato’s all black space ship “Every time you try to operate one of these weird black controls that are labelled in black on a black background, a little black light lights up black to let you know you've done it”. Well the makers (predecessors ?) of Hotblack’s ship are alive & well and working at Hublot. To me this is the reason I bought the watch, the attention to detail, which to some extent has forsaken function for form. Whilst many loathe Hublot I have always liked them – perhaps because I don’t see them as being in competition with other brands but as watches to complement a collection.







Back to the watch – it certainly manages the Hublot “fusion” concept well – the case is composed of black composite resin sandwiched between black ceramic plates. The bezel is a thick black rubber ring with a (black) titanium disc over the top of it. The crown & chrono pushers are black titanium & rubber. The entire watch is held together by black-PVD-coated titanium “H” screws. Curiously the randomness of the orientation doesn’t bother me (or even notice) in real life. The folding clasp is of course a black combination of titanium & ceramic – it is easily adjusted, and feels very secure & clips open & closed just as you would expect it to.

The real details start when you look at the dial more closely – it is only upon close inspection you can realise just how difficult it must be to make a watch like this with every piece just about being bespoke and meticulously finished. The hands are the only element that aren’t black, but a sort of shiny brown – they reflect the light wonderfully well making the time very easy to see even in very low light.
However it is a crime to keep the watch in low light as it rewards a close examination of the detailing that has gone into its dial. The dial itself is actually a transparent form of carbon fibre with perfectly applied print markings that allows you to see much of the movement underneath. The dial is surrounded by a rehaut engraved with minutes, the hours markers are stuck onto the glass individually and again are black. The hands and hours are filled with (black) super luminova which barely glows at all – pointless but to my mind a great detail where the designer has refused to compromise unnecessarily. The highlight of the dial for me is the date ring, which again must have been very difficult to make. It snaps round at midnight with the current day being indicated by a white disc – I guess a black disc was just too much even for Hublot !

The chrono pushers work very smoothly – far better than the Hublot Big Bangs or also my El Primero – you can see the gears that drive the running seconds & also the chrono reset through the dial. The Flyback chrono only measures an hour and curiously the elapsed minutes are driven like a regular minute hand so doesn’t snap each minute like an El Primero – coupled with the black markings it makes reading the elapsed time fairly tricky despite the actual use being a pleasure.







The display back allows you to admire the mostly black movement – which is very industrial looking. The “decoration” suits the overall style of the watch perfectly and it is a very unique looking movement and clearly something a bit special. Much of it is ceramic so hopefully won’t need as much servicing as older movements as clearly this will be a return to Hublot event.

I am delighted with the watch and the movement – I know it certainly isn’t for everyone but critics should look at the detailing & craftsmanship and not consider why they prefer a Rolex or JLC but how it would add to their collection & enjoyment. I know many disliked Hublot for the Big Bang’s movement being based on a 7750, this Unico definitely addresses this concern, and looking at the new range of 45mm Big Bangs that will contain Unico movements I would say Hublot’s future is certainly very dark !


This message has been edited by KIH on 2013-07-25 17:22:35

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