Swiss watchmaking brand Hublot can be considered as one of the early adopters of cryptocurrencies from the world of haute horology. Way back in 2018, the watchmaker has introduced the $25,000 Meca-10 P2P watch that was created to celebrate Bitcoin’s 10th anniversary and could only be purchased using the cryptocurrency. It turns out that Hublot has not abandoned its interest in the digital currency despite its high volatility. For its latest creation, the Swiss watchmaker has collaborated with digital asset platform Ledger to introduce a special edition timepiece called Hublot Big Bang Unico Ledger. The Hublot wristwatch with a beautiful monochrome looks pays homage to the earliest and newest forms of global currency, referring to cryptocurrencies and electrum.
Electrum is an alloy of gold and silver that is known to be used to mint the earliest coins in history, in Lydia, modern-day western Turkey, more than 2500 years ago. As a tribute to electrum, the signature screw-topped bezel of the limited edition watch is made out of a proprietary “stainless electrum” alloy using an equal 50/50 mixture of gold and silver. Other than the bezel, the entire watch is finished in jet black. The bezel is also engraved six times with “vires in numeris” around its edges which translates to strength in numbers in English.
“Having served as the Timekeeping Partner of January’s Crypto Finance Conference 2022 in St. Moritz, it brings me great pleasure to introduce today a watch that fuses together the many tantalising possibilities that link high-end crypto and state-of-the-art mechanical watchmaking. I firmly believe this is the year when the watch industry will come to embrace crypto currency.” Says Hublot CEO Ricardo Guadelupe.
The familiar Big Bang Unico case that measures 42mm is in matte black ceramic. The dial of the limited edition piece follows the standard Big Bang Unico skeleton design which has been rendered in all-black for this application. The sapphire crystal caseback with Ledger’s branding showcases the in-house HUB1280 automatic chronograph movement that’s also finished in black. With a 28,800bph beat rate, the movement offers an impressive power reserve of 72 hours. Completing the look is a ridged rubber integrated strap in black that matches the monochrome theme of the watch. The watch also comes with a bespoke Ledger x Hublot Nano X which is a matte black cryptocurrency key leading to Ledger’s most popular Bluetooth-enabled digital asset wallet. Only 50 examples of the Hublot Big Bang Unico Ledger will be made priced at $28,300 apiece.
