The Hublot Big Bang Unico Sky Blue is back in a new, more accessible size

For the last couple of years, Hublot has celebrated the advent of summer with bright and jaunty colours that embody the vibrancy of the season. For 2023, the brand revisits a breezy favourite from 2020 — the Big Bang Unico Sky Blue — and shrinks it down from 45mm to 42mm to broaden its appeal.

Hublot has been devoting much of its resources into its coloured ceramic cases since 2019, and the sheer variety of light and bright shades it has achieved (a challenge with ceramic) is testament to its dedication to material innovation. Previous summer colours have included turquoise and light purple. Now its baby blue chronograph is back with slightly leaner dimensions, and as a limited edition of 200 pieces.

With its sandwich construction, satin-brushed and polished surfaces, and open-worked dial, the Big Bang Unico has always been a watch of serious technical ruggedness, but a pale blue and white colourway shows that it’s been designed for a convivial day on the beach or — especially for those of us here living in this ceaseless warmth — an eye-catching everyday watch that still has horological chops to show off.

Ticking away under that playful facade is the in-house Unico HUB1280. Essentially just a slimmer version of the HB1242 used in the 45mm version of this watch, the calibre integrates a flyback chronograph movement with a column wheel and vertical clutch. Composed of 354 parts, the automatic 4Hz movement also provides the date, and has a power reserve of 72 hours. Overall, the watch now measures 14.5mm thick, about 2mm thinner than its 2020 predecessor.

You’ll be able to see some of the construction from the dial side, and chronograph geeks will love the fact that the column wheel can be seen through an aperture at 6 o’clock. The date wheel is also visible beneath the Super-Luminova-filled hour markers, with the current date displayed through a window at 3 o’clock (taking over the 15-minute mark of the chronograph counter).The two straps that are delivered with the watch offer two poolside lounge-worthy styles: one in sky blue rubber with a white trim and a titanium deployment clasp, and another in white calfskin fastened with Velcro. You can easily switch between either thanks to Hublot’s One-Click system. 

The “Hublot Loves Summer” campaign continues to deliver some of the most lively interpretations of the Big Bang collection, and given that we live in a perpetual summer, that just means more fun for us.