Hublot Big Bang Unico GMT: Instant Time Zone

With its trademark ingenuity, Hublot has simplified the use of a complex complication: GMT
From one time zone to another, at the push of a button The Hublot Unico manufacture movement is equipped with a new patented proprietary module which enables the second time zone to be updated instantly by a p

With its trademark ingenuity, Hublot has simplified the use of a complex complication: GMT
From one time zone to another, at the push of a button

The Hublot Unico manufacture movement is equipped with a new patented proprietary module which enables the second time zone to be updated instantly by a push-button, allowing the local time to be read easily via the conventional main hand of the watch. The time at home is indicated using a second arrow-shaped hour hand, which integrates a day/night indicator and is set using the crown. Today, we board an aircraft like we were getting in a car, travelling constantly back and forth between time zones. GMT has proven to be one of the most useful and frequently used complications, hence the need to simplify its operation and make it easier to read.

"Every complex problem has a simple solution. It simply depends on how we look at it. I travel so much that, as often as not, my watch is the only way I can keep track of what time it is at home, and where I am landing. And, I must admit, I have never found a GMT model which is simple enough to really be useful, and that I can use as intended. Thanks to the ingenuity of our R&D team, this is now possible and, believe me, the Big Bang Unico GMT is sure to inspire imitators".

Ricardo Guadalupe

The ingenuity of the module developed by the Hublot manufacture resides in its simplicity. A patented invention which provides a simple solution to a complex, practical indication. The Big Bang Unico GMT is a watch with an original aesthetic and optimum legibility, combined with the ability to update the second time zone very quickly, with the time corrected at the push of a button.

Simplifying the GMT operating principle
Second time zone updated instantly at the push of a button

The two push-buttons adorning the Big Bang Unico GMT case are not the same as those seen on a chronograph. Their aesthetic has been redesigned to ensure they can be distinguished, and their rectangular shape brings to mind the historic push-buttons of the first Big Bang models. Each press of the push-button at 2 o'clock moves the time forward by one hour; the one at 4 o'clock moves it back. A safety device prevents simultaneous activation of the two push-buttons. GMT time (local time) is set independently of the other hands by pressing a push-button; the gears for the minutes and seconds are not driven. This means it is not necessary to synchronise all of the hands with every change in time zone.

Optimizing legibility

The two time zones occupy the same display space on the dial, ensuring they provide optimum legibility. Local time is indicated via the main hand. A fourth hand, which is arrow-shaped, indicates the time at home using a 12-hour display, and is correlated to a day/night disc so that the user can tell at a glance whether it is 5am or 5pm. The graduations for the 12 hours are alternated: engraved on the dial and indexed on the bezel. This practical element also lends the piece its distinctive identity.

 Big Bang Unico GMT

In a 45 mm case, the Big Bang Unico GMT is available in a titanium or carbon fibre version, on a structured, ribbed black and blue natural rubber strap. Both versions are equipped with the ingenious "One Click" interchangeable strap system. The UNICO movement has been redesigned to transform it into a calibre with an integrated GMT function. The HUB1251 movement is driven by 358 components, and beats at a frequency of 28,800 vibrations per hour, boasting a 72-hour power reserve.