The watch presented to your attention is an automatic flyback chronograph with a black ceramic case and a rubber strap with a folding clasp, featuring the largest case size in the series – 48 mm! The bezel is made of ceramic with a rubber base and the characteristic Hublot titanium screws. The skeletonised dial features luminous, partially skeletonised hands and applied hour markers, also with luminous material, making the indications very easy to read even in the absence of light. The minute markers are positioned on the inner flange around the outer edge of the dial, while the date indication is located at the 4:30 position.
The automatic movement offers a power reserve of approximately 72 hours, while the watch features a scratch-resistant sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating, a crown with a rubber insert, a transparent caseback and water resistance of 100 metres. The case diameter is 48 mm excluding the crown, while its impressive proportions and multilayered construction are among the model's most distinctive characteristics.
At the heart of the watch beats the in-house HUB1240 Unico calibre – an automatic chronograph with a column wheel and flyback function, allowing the chronograph to be instantly reset and restarted with a single press of a button. The movement operates at 28,800 vibrations per hour, features 38 jewels, 330 components and a power reserve of approximately 72 hours. Its skeletonised construction allows much of the mechanics to be observed directly through the dial, while the transparent caseback provides an opportunity to admire further details of its craftsmanship.
A mechanical enumeration of facts. But what exactly does this watch possess to justify its position in such a high price segment? Yes, it does not have the long history and popularity of a Submariner or Seamaster, nor the legendary stories associated with the Fifty Fathoms or Radiomir, but it possesses several very important characteristics that allow it to become one of the iconic watches in its class.
First, the quality – starting with the materials used, moving through the finishing of every single detail and ending with the overall composition and impression the watch creates when examined, there is not the slightest doubt about this characteristic. This watch is not merely well made – it can confidently be placed among the most intelligently designed and carefully manufactured modern sports chronographs. The black ceramic, rubber elements, titanium details and skeletonised dial are combined in a way that makes the watch both exceptionally technical and instantly recognisable.
Second, its distinctive appearance – this is one of its greatest advantages. The overall impression it creates is that, when developing its design, the main task given to the designers was to find the most aesthetically pleasing way to fit a circle inside a hexagon and then round off the corners of the hexagon. :) Of course, all of this is executed with Hublot's characteristic boldness in combining different geometric shapes, materials and surfaces. The result is a watch that could hardly be mistaken for any other.
Third, but certainly not least, is the technology – the watch almost appears to have been assembled from several separate layers. The lower section, to which the caseback is attached, together with the upper part of the case forms a complex multilayered construction, secured with screws and complemented by the characteristic composite side inserts. The fixed ceramic bezel is mounted on the upper section, with rubber and composite components used between the different elements. It is precisely this complex construction, combining different materials, that represents one of the defining characteristics of Hublot's Art of Fusion concept.
Indeed, this is not a watch that you would describe as delicate, elegant or refined, but nobody expects it to be. This is an instrument designed to be an instrument, manufactured like an instrument and looking exactly like an instrument – substantial, somewhat rugged, easy to operate and truly capable of attracting the attention of those around you, while at the same time providing its owner with genuine pleasure simply through its presence.
