2020 Hublot Spirit of Big Bang Titanium Ceramic Chronograph Complete Set

Hublot Spirit of Big Bang Titanium Ceramic Chronograph — Ref. 641.NM.0173.LR

IN PRODUCTION
There are round chronographs at every price point. There is exactly one tonneau-cased chronograph at this level running a high-frequency El Primero at 36,000 vph, fully skeletonized, visible through a sapphire crystal dial, inside a grade 5 titanium case with a ceramic bezel. That's this watch. The Spirit of Big Bang takes Hublot's "Art of Fusion" material philosophy and turns it into architecture — titanium where you need strength and lightness, ceramic where you need scratch resistance, black composite resin where you need shock absorption between the two — and the tonneau case shape gives every one of those materials visible real estate on the wrist. Round watches hide their case construction. This watch announces it. The six H-shaped titanium screws securing the ceramic bezel are functional fasteners, the black resin lateral band and bezel lugs create visual depth between the polished and brushed titanium surfaces, and the angular case geometry means this thing catches light from angles that round cases physically cannot. The sapphire crystal dial puts the entire HUB4700 on permanent display: the column-wheel chronograph mechanism, the skeletonized rotor with the Hublot H logo, the silicon escapement components, the blued screws, the ruby jewels — all of it framed by a black flange with a red minute track that gives the movement architecture the one thing it needs to read as a dial rather than a display case.
The HUB4700 is a skeletonized Zenith El Primero, and that lineage matters. The El Primero debuted in 1969 as the first automatic chronograph with an integrated architecture and the first mechanical chronograph to run at 5 Hz, which is what allows it to measure elapsed time to a tenth of a second — a capability that most modern chronograph movements running at 4 Hz cannot match. The silicon regulating element on this version means the escapement runs without lubrication at the pallet and escape wheel, which extends service intervals and maintains accuracy over a longer window than conventional metal escapement components. The strap is Hublot's dual-material construction: alligator leather on the visible face for luxury, rubber on the skin side for comfort and sweat resistance, secured by a titanium deployant buckle with black plating. At 42mm by 14.1mm in grade 5 titanium, the whole package weighs dramatically less than its visual presence suggests, and the exhibition caseback gives a second angle on the same movement you're already watching through the front.
Key Details

• Case width: 42 mm (tonneau)
• Case height (lug-to-lug): ~48 mm
• Case thickness: 14.1 mm
• Weight: not officially listed (grade 5 titanium; substantially lighter than comparable steel chronographs)
• Case material: grade 5 titanium, satin-finished with polished beveled corners
• Case center-band/bezel lugs: black composite resin
• Crystal: sapphire with anti-reflective treatment (front and back)
• Water resistance: 100 m / 330 ft / 10 bar
• Caseback: transparent/exhibition (sapphire)
• Bezel: black ceramic (zirconium sintered), satin-polished with microblasted recessed zones, secured by 6 H-shaped titanium screws
• Crown: pull/push, titanium with black insert, Hublot logo engraved
• Pushers: titanium with black rubber guards
• Dial: sapphire crystal (transparent) over skeletonized movement
• Flange: black with red minute/seconds track
• Hands: brushed, luminous fill on top, skeletonized bottoms
• Hour markers: applied brushed "Applique" indexes with luminous fill
• Small seconds: subdial at 9 o'clock
• Chronograph: central seconds hand with "H" counterweight, 30-minute recorder at 3 o'clock, 12-hour recorder at 6 o'clock
• Date: skeletonized date wheel between 4 and 5 o'clock, blue border
• Caliber: Hublot HUB4700 (based on Zenith El Primero, fully skeletonized)
• Movement type: self-winding automatic, column-wheel chronograph
• Frequency: 36,000 vph / 5 Hz
• Jewels: 31
• Components: 278
• Power reserve: 50 hours
• Escapement: silicon regulating element (pallet lever and escape wheel)
• Certification: Hublot in-house testing
• Strap: black alligator leather (face) with rubber backing
• Clasp: titanium and black-plated titanium deployant buckle