Hublot Doubles Down On Ceramic: The New Two-Tone Ceramic Big Bang Unico Magic Ceramic

A new take on two tone timekeeping.

Jack Forster6 Min ReadFeb 18 2025

A comprehensive list of unconventional materials that Hublot has used in its watches would run to approximately the length of a novella, at least – you can start with King Gold and Magic Gold and go on from there to things like SAXEM (Hublot’s name for the synthetic sapphire, yttrium aluminum garnet, which it makes in a range of almost flourescent colors). Hublot’s just announced its latest foray into unconventional materials science with the Big Bang Unico Magic Ceramic, which it says represents the first use of multicolored ceramic ever in the history of watchmaking. The claim may be slightly hyperbolic – Rolex has been making two tone ceramic bezels for some time now, although if you want to be accurate, those are surface treatments; Hublot’s claim is based on the fact that its multi-colored Magic Ceramic is colored throughout the bulk of the material, and as far as I know, they are in fact the first brand to produce an industrial ceramic for watchmaking with color intrinsic to the material itself. The effect is mesmerizing and a little unsettling.

The watch is in terms of basic specs, a standard Big Bang with flyback Unico movement caliber HUB1280, which is a newer version of the HUB1240 launched in 2010. HUB1280 went live 9n 2018 and upgraded the HUB1280 which among other modifications, reduced the movement thickness from 8.05mm to 6.75mm. Power reserve is 72 hours at 28,800 vph, and case size is 42mm overall x 14.50mm, water resistant to 10o meters.

But of course what you’re really here for is the two tone bezel. This is produced by using different metallic oxide pigments to produce different colors. Ceramic watch cases are generally made of powdered zirconium oxide, which is powdered and injected into a mold before being heated and compressed. The temperature is high enough to cause the powdered material to fuse but not high enough to cause it to melt completely; the process is called sintering. By mixing different pigments into the primary ceramic material you can get different colors; the main technical challenge is finding pigments which will retain their color at the high temperatures produced during the sintering process.

Back in 2018, Hublot introduced the Big Bang Unico Red Magic, in red ceramic, which highlighted some of the problems involved in making colored ceramics, and specifically, in making a bright red ceramic material. Matthias Buttet, Hublot’s research and development director, said in an article on WatchProSite.com, “This family of ceramics that everyone is trying to get can be called ‘Bright Ceramics.’ The watchmaking and jewelry fields, through major watch brands, needed bright red or yellow ceramics instead of all these very pastel or dark colors that the ceramic industry still offers today. To understand the difficulty of obtaining ceramics in bright colors, it is necessary to know that to harden white ceramic powder (zirconium oxide), needs to reach temperatures up to 2’000°. Yet, the color comes from pigments composed of metal oxide that are destroyed around 800°. It was therefore impossible – at least during these last 20 years, to reach a suitable hardness while preserving the bright color.”

The US patent, no. US11370713B2, was filed back in 2016 and granted in 2022, and describes the basic process in the abstract: “Method for manufacturing a composite material combining a metal oxide or metalloid based matrix suited for allowing light to pass, and a mineral pigment dispersed in the matrix, the method comprising a step of mixing the mineral pigment in powder form with the matrix in powder form, and a step of sintering of the mixture under sufficient pressure such that the densification temperature of the matrix under said pressure is below the breakdown temperature of the mineral pigment, where the sintering temperature is greater than or equal to the densification temperature of the matrix and below the breakdown temperature of the mineral pigment.”

The patent (and the interview) describe the basic process for creating colored ceramics at temperatures low enough to preserve the pigment color, although not how Hublot was able to produce such clearly defined demarcations between the blue cylinders and the grey ceramic areas around them – or the gradient in the areas of grey either; the process, says Hublot, is patent pending (patents are usually published up to 18 months after the date of application so the relevant patent application may have been published too recently for it to show up). Nonetheless, the ability to incorporate colored elements into zirconium oxide ceramic by controlling temperature was, says Hublot, key to achieving this result, the company says, “While others have attempted to create multicoloured ceramics, none have come close to what Hublot has achieved. Each pigment used for colour must go through different temperatures during the baking and moulding processes of the ceramic components. The challenge therefore lies in finding the perfect balance to obtain a homogeneous and flawless result.”

I said that the effect is unsettling and I think it is so partly thanks to the fact that it resembles the appearance of areas of pigment in nature – the two things I thought of first were areas of growing microorganisms in laboratory petri dishes, and the spots of the blue-ringed octopus, which is a charming looking little creature and also one of the most venomous animals in the world.

The new manufacturing process would seem to lend itself to the creation of other patterns and the use of other colors, and I imagine we’ll see more of these in the near future, at Watches & Wonders 2025.

In the meantime, this remains a fascinating new development in materials technology in watchmaking and moreover, one that’s likely to remain exclusive to Hublot for some time. The technical solutions necessary to produce the new material are ingenious but for now, production of components based on the technology looks like it’s going to be fairly low; the new Unico Big Bang Magic Ceramic is a very small series limited edition of just 20 pieces, priced at $33,000 at launch.

The Hublot Big Bang Unico Magic Ceramic Limited Edition: case, 42mm x 14.50mm, water resistance 100 meters, in micro blasted and polished black ceramic; sapphire crystals front and back. Bezel, polished bi-color black ceramic with “twilight blue” dots. Movement, HUB1280 UNICO automatic flyback chronograph, with tungsten oscillating weight, running at 26,800 vph in 43 jewels, with72 hour power reserve. Limited edition of 20 pieces worldwide; price, $33,000.

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