Hublot Spirit of Big Bang Chronograph: Hublot Channels Richard Mille

• • The Hublot Spirit of Big Bang is a double-barreled shot across the bow of Richard Mille.

• • Spirit of Big Bang packs 90% of the Richard Mille style for 10% of the cost.

• • A 2014 new model debut, the Spirit ranks among the hottest releases of the year.

• • Titanium, kevlar, rubber, and leather yield an unparalleled “techno-chic” factor.

• • Inside, a classic Zenith El Primero movement is visible through both sides of the case.

Hublot‘s Big Bang and Big Bang King Power have defined the look of the oversized sports watch for a decade and counting. During its epic run, Hublot has challenged and occasionally eclipsed the prominence of luxury watch luminaries Rolex, Audemars Piguet, and Breitling within the buzz-driven sports timepiece segment.

But let’s get this out in the open; the Hublot Spirit of Big Bang is Hublot’s opening volley in a bid to recapture the media magic and collector “mindshare” that Richard Mille has been seizing with abandon.

Under the watch sector superstar Jean-Claude Biver, Hublot has promoted its extrovert watches with relentless energy in every celebrity-rich, high-profile, media-darling arena where eligible wrists can be found.

Love it or hate it, you can’t miss Hublot or its watches.

But for the last half-decade, one name has repeatedly surfaced on Hublot’s radar to do battle for the hearts and minds of the sports luxury crowd: Richard Mille.

Mille one-ups Hublot by placing its six-figure (and up) hardware front and center on the world’s most elite arms; Formula One drivers, pro tennis stars, and A-List actors not only wear RM watches, but they authorize signature models bearing their names.

While the Les Breuleux manufacture plays to a smaller crowd and at higher price points than most Hublot watches, Biver and Co. must have realized that Mille was taking them to school with their own lesson plan. As is so often the case, for Hublot, it’s the principle of the thing.

The Spirit of Big Bang represents the distillation of Hublot’s materials fusion concept and the fashion sensibility of Richard Mille’s signature tonneau-shaped sports watches into a single standout package.

With its massive tapered case, rubber and alligator strap, Zenith El Primero-based chronograph movement, and fully-skeletonized dial, the Spirit of Big Bang captures virtually all of the Richard Mille techno-badass image at a tenth of the cost

The luxury sports watch sector is a full-contact business, and Hublot comes out of the saloon with both barrels aflame. A colossal tonneau rendered in high-grade titanium makes no apologies about cribbing RM’s style or playing to its core crowd.

This watch embodies the elemental intrigue of a raw Lamborghini space frame on the assembly line before body panels and paint civilize the feral mechanical beast beneath.

Hublot’s signature titanium “H”-shaped bezel bolts are present in force, and alternating pockets of brushed Ti contrast with relief channels of frosted metal. The contrast is dramatic and striking.

Each flank of the Spirit swells with the volume of a jet-black kevlar insert emphasizing the layered construction that has become iconic of Hublot’s “fusion” style… and Richard Mille’s RM series.

Inside the cavernous exoskeleton, an exquisite Hublot Cal. HUB4700 movement can be viewed through a fully-skeletonized dial and a sapphire exhibition caseback.

There’s plenty of window space to enjoy the view, and the fortunate owner will enjoy every square centimeter of the vista. Based on the legendary Zenith El Primero chronograph, the HUB4700 comes dressed in dark PVD bridges, a transparent sapphire date disc, and fully-exposed wheels, levers, and rubies.

Each element is decorated for maximum visual punch; Hublot wisely noted that half the entertainment value of a Richard Mille comes from showing the beating heart of the watch to beguiled friends and colleagues.

The performance of the Spirit of Big Bang lives up to its rugged good looks.

Hublot‘s corporate stablemate Zenith handled the engineering on this movement, and the El Primero base caliber in this luxury bruiser is a legend of the business. The first automatic chronograph with a 36,000 VpH rate, the El Primero was setting records while Richard Mille himself was still in watchmaking school.

Universally respected by connoisseurs of fine watchmaking, the double-time beat and rugged durability of the El Primero endow the Spirit with a true high horology pedigree.

Like the RM tonneau series, the Hublot Spirit of Big Bang offers superb ergonomics and a light presence upon the wrist. Titanium watches often undercut the weight of smaller steel and precious metal counterparts, and that’s the case with the Spirit.

Its large caseback further diminishes the impression of mass on the forearm, and a strap of natural rubber and rugged alligator leather ensure optimal comfort. A deployant clasp crafted from PVD-blackened titanium completes the retention equahis example of the Hublot Spirit of Big Bang presents as a new watch with full factory paperwork, packaging, and genuine Hublot accessories.

Take a watch that already undercuts the similarly-styled Richard Mille line by at least 90 percent, factor in a 30+ percent discount, include all factory equipment, and you’re looking at an unbeatable combination of high style and smart value. And that’s the kind of buzz that neither Richard Mille nor Hublot itself can beat.