Samuel Ross and Hublot’s take on a Big Bang chronograph is cool, accessible and very wearable
The sleek Hublot Big Bang Unico SR_A features the brand’s first Unico chronograph movement and a design that Ross says is ‘driven by functionality first’
‘I have been obsessed for quite some time with this dynamic between performance and tactility, discretion and material contrast, which is happening within the luxury watch sector surrounding automatic and chronographic movements,’ says Samuel Ross when we meet in London. ‘So when it came down to developing our first chronograph with Hublot, I had to lean into that personal desire.’
Ross, whose relationship with Hublot began when he won the Hublot Design Prize in 2019, has found his fascination with materials and architectural leanings a natural match for a watch brand defined by unexpected design pairings.
The Hublot Big Bang SR_A by Samuel Ross
These industrial design codes run throughout the watches Ross has created in collaboration with Hublot, and the new Big Bang Unico SR_A is no exception. As the first signature SR_A model created with Hublot’s Unico chronograph movement, it offered new challenges for Ross, who looked to a simple, clean aesthetic to showcase this new technicality.
‘I wanted a deep contrast, so as not to cannibalise the structure we've established with the tourbillons we have worked on together, which lean into this explosive use of materiality [with] carbon fibre in acidic greens and oranges. When it comes to the chronograph, it has a completely different case.’
Black watch, Hublot Big Bang SR_A by Samuel Ross
It is a purity expressed in a monochrome ceramic exterior and a new rubber strap in Ross’ signature honeycomb, making for a contemporary and cool watch that is, above all, very wearable. Adds Ross: ‘Initially, the perforated honeycombs idea began as we wanted to reduce the weight of the face, and then also to expose all of the open work, because it's just an absolute joy visually to see all of the mechanisms at play. That factored into the band development, because it was able – to a certain degree – to reduce the amount of sweat traps that you have.’
Limited to 200 pieces, the watch’s release marks a deliberate widening out of a collection that is more open and accessible than its predecessors. For Ross, how the watch feels to wear is the key driving force behind this. ‘Most of the aesthetics have been driven by functionality first. We've spent a little bit of time refining them, but it's always going to be practicality which leads.’
