One of the year’s best summer replica watches for sale, the Hublot Big Bang Unico Mint Green Ceramic is a fresh interpretation of the brand’s signature collection. Housed in a 42 mm case clad in candy-like, mint green ceramic, the Big Bang Unico features Hublot’s top-of-the-line HUB1280 flyback chronograph movement with an unusual, dial-side integrated construction.
While technically identical to other ceramic AAA fake Hublot Big Bang watches, the new mint green colour is unusually fun and approachable. This new edition of the Big Bang joins the permanent collection, and extends the brand’s industry-leading range of coloured ceramic watches.
Initial thoughts
Hublot is a brand that tends to elicit visceral polarisation among collectors, and it’s easy to see why. The bold designs are seen as outrageous by some, and the pricing puts them out of reach for those focused on maximising their horological dollar.
But Hublot has outgrown its early reputation as a Royal Oak imitator and found its own identity, in part through its leadership in ceramics and willingness to experiment with design and colour. In this case, the mint green colour looks great, and considering the glossy finish, it looks almost like candy. This gives the 1:1 replica watches a friendly countenance that results in an amusing tension with the overtly masculine, technical structure of the case and design of the dial, with its stencil-like hour markers.
The Big Bang collection is all about its signature architectural case, and the mint green edition is no exception. As such things go it’s a reasonable size at 42 mm in diameter and 14.5 mm thick; it’s UK copy watches wholesale for short sleeves and isn’t intended to slip easily under a shirt cuff. That said, the Big Bang wears well for its size thanks to its lug-less design and supple rubber strap. It’s worth noting, however, that the type of single-fold clasp used by Hublot doesn’t fit all wrists well.
The multi-part case construction features a central core of mint green polymer, to which the glossy ceramic bezel, case back, and lug cladding are attached. The use of injection-moulded plastic for the mid-case is disappointing at this price point, but it’s likely functional since it probably absorbs tension that would otherwise threaten the brittle ceramic components.
The perfect replica Hublot Big Bang watches is powered by Hublot’s second-generation Unico flyback chronograph platform, the HUB1280, which is integrated, but with the chronograph works on the dial side. Introduced in 2018, the HUB1280 is uniquely suited to the open-worked design of the Big Bang, featuring a column wheel and horizontal clutch positioned on the dial-side of the movement.
Aesthetically and technically coherent with the overall design of the best super clone watches, the HUB1280 is noteworthy for the exceptional feel of the chronograph pushers, which manage to feel both secure and effortless during operation. Otherwise, the specifications are pretty similar to those of other leading automatic chronograph movements with a sporty 4 Hz rate and convenient 72-hour power reserve.
Hublot does not have a great reputation when it comes to value-for-money, but this is mainly because the comparative set often includes brands with more traditional styling like Panerai and IWC that offer a similar level of watchmaking at a lower price point. For example, the Big Bang mint green ceramic retails for US$24,100, which is about US$10,000 more than the IWC “Top Gun” Miramar chronograph in pale blue ceramic, which is very similar high quality replica watches on paper.
But the wearing experience is vastly different, and Big Bang buyers are more likely to be cross-shopping with far more expensive and expressive designs; next to an RM011, the Big Bang is bargain summer Swiss movements reproduction watches.
Mint cladding
The new Big Bang in mint green ceramic is a testament to the power of colour. Light, delicate colours like mint green are difficult to render in ceramic, due to the way the coloured pigments behave at the high temperatures required to manufacture the components.
Hublot has managed to overcome these challenges in the past and produced ceramic fake watches for men in pale blue, bright orange, and fire engine red. In this case, the pleasing pastel green colour and deep, glossy finish help tone down the intensity inherent to the design of the Big Bang.
It’s worth dwelling for a moment on the rich glossy texture of the ceramic, which looks like a high-end automotive coating. At arm’s length, this texture gives the Big Bang a look quite unlike anything else.
The case is built up from several components, but features a mid-case made from injection-moulded plastic. The tell-tale signs of this technique are the flash lines visible near the ‘wings’ on either side of the case.
It’s not ideal, but I’d speculate the slight elasticity of the plastic is what enables the bezel and case back to be made from ceramic, since most ceramic Swiss made replica watches have metal case backs screwed to a metal case core to avoid cracking. If that’s indeed the case, no pun intended, it’s a worthwhile trade-off given the overall effect.
In addition to the bezel and case back, the Big Bang features ceramic cladding on its lugs, which are angled to flow over the curve of the wrist and feature a spring-loaded button to release the strap for quick changes.
This is one of my favourite stylistic elements of the Big Bang design, and it works well – the quick release button has to be depressed quite far to release the strap making it unlikely to happen unintentionally.
And while the China duplicate Hublot Big Bang watches doesn’t have much of a dial, the 60-minute counter for the chronograph and other dial elements are rendered in a matching hue, with the open-worked hands given a highly textural painted finish that contrasts with the glossy texture of the case.
The logo is printed in the underside of the crystal, which accentuates the three-dimensional feel of the dial. Visual tricks like this can come off as gimmicky when applied to more traditional designs, but are well-suited to a watch like the Big Bang.
The unique Unico
Spend any time with cheap fake Hublot Big Bang watches, and you’ll likely come away impressed by the feel of the chronograph pushers. This has always been a strength of the Unico platform, both in the original HUB1242 which entered service in 2010, and the second generation HUB1280 which debuted in 2018.
The pushers themselves are substantial and lavishly sculpted, grooved like piston heads and faceted at the ends. A gentle push is enough to trip the chronograph levers, which break crisply.
Built in-house at the brand’s manufacture in suburban Geneva, the HUB1280 relies on an integrated, dual horizontal clutch design, which has been organised to reveal the column wheel and chronograph wheels under the transparent dial. This departs from conventional where the chronograph mechanism is usually integrated on the back, perhaps reflecting the modular approach taken by the first-generation HUB1242.
One of the notable features visible near seven o’clock is a wheel comprised of spring-loaded teeth, which is the chronograph coupling wheel. This design reduces backlash and helps mitigate the momentary jitter of the seconds hand that often occurs when starting a chronograph with a horizontal clutch design. Hublot hasn’t shared many details about this, but it is almost certainly fabricated via LIGA; Rolex uses a similar design in the cal. 4131 that powers the Daytona.
The Unico platform evolved pretty substantially between first and second generations. Not only does the HUB1280 now offer flyback functionality, but the entire movement was slimmed down from about 8 mm to just 6.75 mm; it’s now just a hair thicker than the segment-leading Rolex cal. 4131.
Best quality replica watches UK like the Big Bang are not really intended to be showcases for hand finishing, so the HUB1280 is finished in an appropriately minimalist, industrial manner. That said, the style and degree of finishing are a fit for the overall design and it looks good. The plates are bridges are treated with a matte grey texture that contrasts with the polished steelwork of the column wheel and screw heads.
The movement also features an escape wheel and pallet in silicon, reducing friction and prolonging the power reserve. This also makes the movement less susceptible to the deterioration of lubricant over time, which in theory should help extend service intervals.
All else being equal, I tend to prefer the romance of traditional materials for mechanical knock off watches paypal, but I think the use of silicon is the right choice for the HUB1280 since it’s coherent with the brand’s philosophy of material experimentation and is objectively superior in terms of function.
If I could change one thing about the movement, it would be the method of regulation. Equipped with an Etachron curb-pin regulator and a micrometric screw for fine adjustment, the HUB1280 could be improved with a free-sprung balance.
I know I complain about regulators a lot, but when the Unico prototype was first unveiled in 2009, the renderings clearly showed a free-sprung variable inertia balance with a full balance bridge. This feature never made it to production, which is unfortunate because it’s the only thing missing from an otherwise excellent industrial chronograph movement.
Closing thoughts
I appreciate the direction Hublot is taking with its coloured ceramics and this new mint green livery transforms the aggressive Big Bang design into something fun and easy going. All of the elements of the design are cohesive, and there’s an undeniable consistency in approach to the construction of both the case and the movement. It’s not for every budget and it’s a little rough around the edges, quite literally, but the tactile feel of the best-selling replica watches, from the feel of the ceramic to the break of the pushers, is seductive.
