With LVMH Watch Days in full swing, we get to meet a lot of new and exciting timepieces — including this one from Hublot. Did you miss the first watch made by Hublot of Saxem? If so, you have a chance to rediscover this all-new material now in green. Hublot first introduced the material about five years ago in 2019 for the Big Bang MP-11. Since then, the brand – in its extensive R&D labs — has developed two colors of the material: yellow and emerald green. The new Big Bang Unico Green Saxem is bold, bright and brawny – as the material is just as resilient and resistant to scratches as sapphire.
Unlike traditional sapphire, which is composed of aluminum oxide mixed with metallic oxides for color, Saxem derives its distinctive color from rare earth elements. The material boasts a four-sided structure, in contrast to sapphire’s three-sided form. This subtle difference in structure contributes to Saxem’s brighter luminosity and shine, characterized by greater uniformity and seamlessness. Additionally, since the material contains aluminum oxide, it has all of the great property traits as sapphire when it comes to hardness and scratch resistance.
The journey towards creating the green shade of SAXEM featured in the Big Bang Unico Green was in itself two years in the research and development stages. The process is the same as it was for the yellow color, but arriving at the perfect green for this 42mm watch took time. The bezel boasts the iconic six titanium H-shaped screws and the watch is powered by Hublot’s Unico 2 caliber.
This new-generation Unico 2 caliber is a flyback chronograph (HUB1280) that shifts from the previous micro-rotor HUB6035 movement, in that it is still self-winding, but now features a high-performance tungsten oscillating weight visible through the Green Saxem case. The iconic column wheel at 6 o’clock, Unico’s signature, and the date disc, visible around the movement, add to the technical and aesthetic prowess of the timepiece.
Additionally, the movement is finished in black PVD, along with the crown and the chronograph push-pieces. The hands are coated in a luminescent material that matches the color of the Saxem green. The watch is finished with the brand’s patented One Click interchangeable strap system. It is a testament to exclusivity, as well, with just 100 pieces being made.