Hublot Big Bang Unico Sang Bleu II Baselworld 2019

Hublot loves art. This is one of the official slogans of the brand. And so artists like Mark Ferrero, Tristan Eaton, Richard Orlinski or Maxime Büchi join the ranks of the brand's friends and partners.

The first creative product of the collaboration between Hublot and the well-known graphic artist and tattoo artist Maxime Büchi and his label Sang Bleu was presented in 2016.

It was the Big Bang Unico Sang Bleu.

Maxime Büchi became famous for his tattoos, which follow strict geometric forms.

In the watches he designed for Hublot, for example, the hands are replaced by rotating discs. 

In 2019 Hublot presented the Sang Bleu II, a Flyback Chronograph, which without a doubt comes from Maxime Büchi.

The Sang Bleu II is technically based on the Hublot Unico caliber. And so the movement of these watches bears the designation HUB1240MXM.

Hublot presented two versions of the Sang Bleu II, one in King Gold and one in Titanium.

And on these chronographs, too, the hands are in the form of rotating discs.

Hublot writes about Sang Bleu II:

More ambitious than the Big Bang Sang Bleu launched in 2016, the new Big Bang Sang Bleu II passionately channels the design skills of world famous tattoo artist Maxime Plescia-Buchi. A case with more finely-chiselled lines, conveyed in three dimensions. An expression of the passage of time, the hands - two elongated diamonds and an arrow - are stylised fragments of tattoos, set above a hypnotic chronographic movement. 

Even more disruptive, the Big Bang Sang Bleu II channels the creative inspiration of Maxime Plescia-Buchi into its three-dimensional angles and edges. The motif spans the case, cutting into its hexagonal bezel, and carving into the sapphire crystal, juxtaposed against the hands with their geometric lines, and moulded onto the interchangeable bracelet.

The dial plays with transparency, allowing glimpses of the Unico movement. It is feat of construction, almost architectural in scope, in a 45-mm case. 

Within the meticulously interlaced geometric lines of this new case lies the HUB1240 Unico manufacture self-winding chronograph movement: the chronograph seconds are tracked along a straight hand, whilst the chronograph minutes complete their laps on one of the two discs on the dial. It oscillates at a frequency of 28,800 vibrations per hour, for a period of 72 hours. Two hundred titanium and one hundred King Gold pieces will be released. 

A key component of contemporary Pop Culture, tattooing is no longer the sole preserve of a largely masculine underground scene. From a primitive practice to a celebrated field of Art, and cultural phenomenon, its growing creative influence shows tattooing is not merely a trend but a cultural shift which will last and influence all generations to come.

The new Big Bang Sang Bleu II is the horological expression of a tattoo, set in motion with timeless precision, unifying materials and crafts through geometry by Sang Bleu’s founder. 

By the way, Maxime Büchi is also a really nice guy. He presented his new watches live in Basel. Who would like to have a tattoo of him waits by the way on average 5 years.