Few Swiss watchmakers are so synonymous with disruption as Hublot – famed, and occasionally notorious, makers of the Big Bang.
Founded by Carlo Croco in 1980, the company first rose to prominence for introducing watches on rubber straps – a combination then virtually unheard of in the luxury watch industry.
Since then, the brand has cultivated a reputation for innovation, always choosing to craft traditional complications – like the tourbillon or flyback chronograph – in novel materials signifying “the art of fusion”. Under the leadership of legendary watch executive Jean-Claude Biver, who presided over the company from 2004 to 2007, sales increased fivefold.
This formidable performance, against the backdrop of the Great Recession, led to Hublot’s acquisition by LVMH in 2008. Now part of the group’s burgeoning watches & jewellery division, it continues to be popular for materially innovative sports watches and its clever tie-ins with the worlds of sport and pop culture.
Discover a handful of our favourite pieces from the maison, several of them newly released in 2026, below.
Hublot MP-17 Meca-10 ‘Arsham Splash’
Made in collaboration with Daniel Arsham, the MP-17 ($107,000) is suffused with the leading American artist’s vision of “contemporary objects as ancient artefacts”. The watch’s case, machined in a combination of titanium and sapphire crystal, evokes the image of alien technology emerging out of a primordial ooze – making for a watch with distinctly sculptural presence on the wrist.
That fluid shape belies the wearability of the MP-17. Sized at 42mm, it’s no bigger than your garden-variety dive watch, wearing snugly thanks to its lugless, pebble-esque design. Hublot watchmakers were able to realise this compact form with the integration of the Meca-10: a manually wound in-house movement that uses a unique rack-and-pinion winding system to generate a whopping ten days of power reserve. Limited to 99 pieces globally.
Hublot Spirit of Big Bang Essential Taupe
Part of the Spirit of Big Bang collection that is rendered distinctive by its tonneau shape, this ‘essential’ model in taupe ($36,700) ought to be a no-brainer for members of the shakerato-sipping, cream cashmere-wearing crowd. The watch’s dial utilises a chequerboard motif derived from the original (read: circular) Big Bang, in addition to satin and mirror-polished finishes that give the large-to-size 42mm case a unique look.
Underneath, the watch is driven by the HUB4700: Hublot’s take on the self-winding El Primero chronograph movement. Originally engineered by Zenith (incidentally, another LVMH-backed maison) this movement is best known for its extremely rapid rate of operation – beating at 5Hz, or 36,000 vibrations per hour.
Accurate to within one-tenth of a second, it makes this Spirit of Big Bang reference much more than a simple fashion statement.
Hublot Big Bang Original ‘King Gold’ Ceramic
Conceived as a tribute to Hublot’s Big Bang design of the mid-2000s, the ‘Original’ ($58,600) lives up to its name with a handful of easter eggs that play out across the overall design. Millennials may recall the carbon fibre-inspired motif stamped on the dial, or the prominent knurling on the ceramic bezel.
This version of the Original also shows off Hublot’s penchant for cutting-edge materials. Specifically, ‘King Gold’ – a proprietary fusion of platinum and 18K rose gold that is warmer in tone and uniquely suited to satin-finishing.
These throwback elements are offset by the Original’s choice in engine: the Unico, a.k.a. Hublot’s first wholly in-house flyback chronograph. Constructed with a column wheel and double-clutch system, the stopwatch function can be reset instantaneously without compromising the Original’s 72-hour power reserve.
Hublot Big Bang Reloaded Ceramic 44mm
Widely regarded as the most architectural iteration of the Big Bang design, the ‘Reloaded’ ($37,300) returns in 2026 in a range of titanium and colourful ceramic models. On the bold and brawny side at 44mm, this watch’s enlarged form factor provides a fantastic canvas for showcasing engineering.
The nerve centre of Hublot’s in-house Unico calibre is mostly exposed, enabling wearers to see the action of the clutch and column wheel system through the dial whenever the chronograph is activated. Additionally, the Reloaded makes use of a few fresh design details that separate it from its original recipe brethren.
On the green ceramic Reloaded, for example, orange accents are used to draw the wearer’s eye toward several of the chronograph’s working elements including the 4 o’clock pusher, and minutes totaliser (finished with a textured, multilayer effect).
Hublot Big Bang ‘Usain Bolt’ Ceramic Carbon
Given its ongoing partnership with the likes of Novak Djokovic and Kylian Mbappé, it comes as no surprise that Hublot has also teamed up with Usain Bolt this year for the launch of a 200-piece limited edition ($44,400).
Technically modeled on the standard Big Bang Reloaded, this athletic edition – made as a tribute to “the fastest man alive” – integrates a number of references to Bolt’s own ethos and career. The upper part of the bezel features carbon decorated with a fragmented motif, along with edges in polished 18K yellow gold.
Eagle-eyed Hublotistas will clock the use of the 6-5-8 numerals between the dial’s 6 and 8 o’clock position. Flip the watch upside down and they read “9.58”, alluding to the Jamaican sprinter’s second 100m world record – minted at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
With this collaboration, Hublot has hidden the best behind the caseback. In place of the usual ornate gold or platinum rotor, the winding mass which powers this Big Bang integrates a bolt-shaped sapphire crystal – filled with earth from Bolt’s childhood training ground in Jamaica. Talk about ‘a piece of history’.
Hublot MP-15 ‘Takashi Murakami’ Tourbillon
The most formidably priced inclusion in Forbes Life’s guide to Hublot watches, the MP-15 ($606,000) also happens to be the most creatively singular. Marking the fourth time the brand has collaborated with Takashi Murakami, this release translates the eponymous pop artist’s famed smiling flower motif into sculptural form.
A dozen petals, studded with more than 440 gemstones, encircle a central tourbillon movement – the first such architecture ever attempted by the brand. In contrast to the typical Hublot sports watch, the MP-15 is wreathed almost entirely in sapphire crystal – a move that contributes to the adorable ‘Superflat’ look of this watch on the wrist.
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