Watch of the Week: Hublot Big Bang Unico GMT

A watch that offers a second time-zone can be indispensable when traveling, but you truly have to take it through its paces to see if changing the time zones can be done with ease. In many cases, this is overlooked by its manufacturers. It either requires a special tool to get to a tiny pusher on the side of the case, or you have to use the crown. While the latter is already more convenient than the first, you still run the risk of changing more settings than you intended to on the watch. Hublot cleverly solved these problems in its Big Bang Unico GMT.

The crown of this watch is flanked by two pushers; the one at two o’clock advances the time by one hour, while the one at four o’clock does the opposite. As the pushers are only connected to the hour hand, the time zone changes do not affect the precision of the watch as the rest of the hands continue to run as normal. The beauty of this system is that it is not only very intuitive, but it can also be done in the blink of an eye. As you can easily switch back and forwards in time, it also makes no difference if you happen to make a mistake as this can easily be corrected.

Legibility is also usually an issue with watches that offer a second timezone, as many opt to display this on a small subdial. This makes it sometimes difficult to see the correct time, especially at a glance. Therefore the Big Bang Unico GMT shows the local time by means of two bold hands, while the home time (or any other time zone you like) is indicated by a longer, arrow-shaped hand which is pointing at the time indications on the bezel. This hand is also connected to the day/night disc at the center of the dial, so that it is very easy to see if the indicated time is am or pm.

Design has always been Hublot‘s strong suit, as is also evident with the Big Bang Unico GMT. This starts in a practical sense, as the legibility of the dial is superb. By making each hand in the same style, yet still very different from each other, all the functions can be read at an instance.  Furthermore embodies the Big Bang Unico GMT the ‘Art of Fusion’ through its many details and the use of different materials. Hublot is offering the watch in titanium, carbon fibre and King Gold, which each gives a character of its own to the watch. All versions are matched with a blue ceramic bezel and a black and blue rubber strap and powered by caliber HUB1251, a manufacture movement with a power reserve of 72 hours. Combined with a water resistance of 100 meters does this make the Big Bang Unico GMT a very capable and reliable travel partner.