Red is a color with specific cultural meanings — danger, passion, excitement and love. Most of these sentiments or associations apply to replica Hublot‘s latest hit, “the Big Bang Unico Red Magic,” an excellent work that is impressive on many levels.
We need to start with this case. It’s inevitable. This is an amazing replica watch case on many levels, including pure brightness. It was a real Big Bang name. For starters, ceramic isn’t the easiest material to work with, and regardless of color, the highly polished ceramic front and back plates, as well as bezel, is achievement enough. But the real party trick is just how Hublot has succeeded to achieve such a bright color on ceramic, which is a tricky material. But Hublot are no slouches with material innovation — they’re one of the industry leaders when it comes to using unorthodox materials, and using them at scale.
It’s red, but not as red as the case. The dial follows the well-established convention of Big Bang dials – bold, floating numerals matching the case, set against the semi-skeletonized movement. There are lots to like here — the high contrast in general is great, and there are numerous little details to keep you engaged; I like the matt finish of the black lume.
Beating away inside the Red Magic is the HUB 1242, a Unico movement — a flyback column wheel chronograph that rocks a double clutch and an amazing mostly black PVD finish.
There is no doubt that the watch is as prominent as you would expect from a fire engine red 45mm watch. Oh, even the belt is red. So if you want to avoid attention, consider your warning. That said, the sheer size and boldness of the fake watch is what it means to me.
Some people like taking pot shots at Hublot because they’re easy targets in a lot of ways. The unashamedly out-there designs, the ambassador-heavy marketing model and large numbers of limited editions are all things that are anathema to a special breed of mechanical watch enthusiast. But this watch is the counter argument to all those things. The watch combines boldness and technical prowess, is truly innovative, and has played a role in driving material innovation in the industry. I can assure you that in the next few years, we will see more vibrant ceramic watch frames, watch cases and so on.I think that’s a good thing.
