Hublot is going to sell 100 pieces of its special numbered edition Hublot Big Bang amfAR BANG (Ref. 301.CI.1170.GR.AMF11) automatic chronograph donating some part of the revenue to the US-based amfAR (The Foundation for AIDS Research) nonprofit organization.
Although I (as well as a lot of other bloggers and journalists who happen to write about watches) grow more and more tired of Hublot’s design language, which seems to degenerate into recombining the same couple of vowels and consonants over and over again, it is always a pleasure to write about a corporate monster doing a good thing.
Whether it is a restoration of an old plane or a move to support the dwindling rainforests of Malaysia, the act is always generous, always welcomed not only by its beneficiaries but by the general public as well.
The watch that Hublot decided to re-issue as a limited edition model belongs to their well-known (even iconic, perhaps) Big Bang collection.
Its only difference from the rest of the family is that the timepiece features amfAR’s blue-and-orange color scheme.
On the dial, the partially skeletonized hour and minute hands, all three small hands, and even the facetted applied indexes are generously covered with bright blue Superluminova.
The minute track, as well as the small chapter rings on the chronograph totalizers and the usual “cross-hairs” on the small seconds sub-dial is printed in orange. The same color was used to paint the central chronograph hand.
As you may have already noticed, one of the hour markers here is removed and substituted with the blue and orange amfAR logo at 5 o’clock.
The other pieces have also received their share of blue and orange touches.
The stainless steel setting crown, as well as the chronograph push-pieces, feature blue composite resin inserts, while the alligator gummy and black rubber strap also features contrast blue-orange stitching.
The amfAR BANG arrives in a not-too-big (at least, by Hublot’s current standards) 44.5 Big Bang case and sports their HUB 4100 automatic chronograph movement that we have recently seen in a number of their new chronographs including the F1 King Power Ceramic.
The special edition is going to be limited to only 100 individually numbered pieces and is on sale right now.
See also: Hublot Big Bang 44mm Greengo Bang Limited Edition Chronograph
WWR Verdict
Originality 4.5/5
Build Quality: 5/5
Usability: 4/5
Overall Legibility: 4/5
Nighttime Legibility: 4/5
Value for Money: 3.5/5
Overall Rating: 4/5
Photos: Hublot
Hublot Big Bang Black Magic amfAR BANG (Ref. 301.CI.1170.GR.AMF11) specification
Price: $18,700 (MSRP)
Movement: Automatic, Caliber HUB 4100, 28,800 vph, 252 components, Swiss Made
Movement decoration: Bridges: Satin-finished, beveled & polished; Oscillating weight: Tungsten with black PVD treated dimpled surface; Main plate: Sandblasted & rhodium-plated
Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds, date, chronograph
Power reserve: 42 hours
Case: Micro-blasted black ceramic
Crown: Steel with blue rubber insert
Shape: Round
Size: 44.5 mm
Dial: Black with blue Superluminova and orange-colored minute track
Hands: Satin-finished rhodium-plated, with blue SuperLuminova; Yellow-colored central chronograph hand with the signature “H” counterpoise
Water resistance: 100 meters
Strap: Adjustable alligator gummy and black rubber strap, with blue and yellow stitching. Big Bang deployant buckle in black PVD steel
Crystal: Sapphire, antireflective on both sides
Back: Sapphire