Hublot debuts wild new rubber watch strap that feels like velvet
Hublot Big Bang Soft Touch marks an all-new way of watch building
QUICK SUMMARY
Hublot has created a new material that makes rubber feel like velvet, and it's just debuted on a new watch called the Big Bang Soft Touch.
Available in all black and all red, the new Hublot and its clever materiality is available now, with an automatic HUB1280 Unico movement and priced at £19,600.
You are no doubt familiar with the Hublot Big Bang, a watch that has been around for over 25 years now, and is known for pairing metal cases with rubber straps.
But this latest model is the start of something new. The clue’s in the name – the Soft Touch – since this is a watch that debuts an all-new manufacturing process for Hublot’s straps, and now what was rubber now feels like velvet.
That’s the claim, at least. Hublot says a “dedicated overmolding process” is employed, using specially engineered tooling to integrate the velvet-like texture with the rubber itself. This isn’t a finish or a coating, the watchmaker says, but instead a new texture that becomes an intrinsic part of the construction of the strap itself.
To make the new material Hublot has a new watch available in two distinct colours. Called the Big Bang Soft Touch, the watch is offered in All Black and All Red. The new velvet-like material is applied to both the strap and the titanium case, bringing a softness to what was previously metal. It also appears on the bezel and dial, creating what Hublot calls a unique tactile finish
The company says of the material: “Its unique microscopic surface structure is composed of thousands of fine micro-elements, creating an exceptional softness to the touch while preserving the durability and resistance expected from Hublot’s signature rubber.”
Hublot’s own Hub1280 Unico self-winding chronograph movement drives the watch. It features a flyback movement with column wheel, 43 jewels and approximately 72 hours of power reserve. The 43 mm case is made from titanium “overmoulded” with the new velvet-effect material in either red or black, and so too is the bezel.
Water resistance is 100 metres and the dial is protected by a sapphire crystal with anti-reflective treatment. The strap is secured with a titanium deployment buckle clasp, while the dial is punctuated by a date window at the half-past-four position, and a set of rhodium plated, satin-finished hands.
Available now, the Hublot Big Bang Soft Touch is priced at £19,600 in either red or black.
