Hublot Big Bang MP-11 Water Blue Sapphire

article 29 May 2024

BIG BANG MP-11 14-DAY POWER RESERVE WATER BLUE SAPPHIRE: HUBLOT UNVEILS A NEW INTERPRETATION OF SAPPHIRE

The MP-11, featuring its sculptural 7-barrel movement with a 2-week power reserve, makes its debut in a brand-new sapphire colour: a radiant and translucent water blue. A new colour is added to Hublot’s palette of sapphire tones, a major first for this Manufacture Piece.

For some, it was just yesterday. For others, it has been an eternity. Just think: Baselworld 2018! Yet, Hublot regularly set the heart of the watchmaking world aflutter, beating to the rhythm of creations that defied all convention. The MP-11 was no exception. Six years on, it remains what it has always been: first, unique and different.

It has to be said that the bar is very high: seven barrels, and a 14-day power reserve. Quite a benchmark to reach! But beyond the numbers, there is the technology, which remains the pinnacle of inventiveness in watchmaking. To maintain a conventional height (10.9 mm), the seven barrels are coaxial and vertical. They are not integrated into the thickness of the movement. They are physically in front of it, set at 90° to it.

To allow their 336 hours of power reserve to reach the movement, Hublot had to design a tailor-made device: a 90° transmission which uses a helical worm gear, following the principle of an endless screw. The wheel in question is clearly visible between 9 and 10 o’clock. To ensure harmony with this mechanism, Hublot has taken care to place the balance opposite it at 2 o’clock, with its rate at 4 o’clock. The Hublot HUB9011 calibre, with 270 components, is also distinguished by its patented index-assembly system and silicon escapement which protects the movement from any electromagnetic or thermal interference.

A very slowly rotating disc (one revolution every two weeks) indicates the remaining power reserve as close as possible to its energy source, directly at the head of the seven aligned barrels. Furthermore, by echoing the shape of the barrels, the sapphire crystal naturally creates a magnifying effect on this signature element of the watch. The Big Bang MP-11 can be wound manually using the large, fluted crown with a worm screw type relief that echoes the helical gear, or an electric Torx stylus. This sculptural construction is truly worthy of the name “Manufacture Piece”, earning its place in the MPcollection.

A new variation of water blue sapphire

The MP-11 has been the power behind the most daring aesthetic interpretations: ceramic, SAXEM, Magic Gold, 3D carbon. But sapphire remains Hublot’s material of choice. The Manufacture is the undisputed master in its use, with probably the widest range of shades in the watch industry. The 2024 edition of the MP-11 is no exception to the long tradition of innovation at the heart of Hublot’s DNA. For the first time, it will be available in “Water Blue” sapphire.

This new shade is based on a new chemical formula, a custom development, and an exclusive transparency index, yet still boasts all the usual properties of sapphire: brilliant, luminous, perfectly inalterable, and resistant to knocks and scratches. We must also highlight its exemplary polishing, a very delicate operation usually completed by hand. The result required compliance with a very strict set of specifications, and took several years to develop and test, in particular to simulate accelerated aging and guarantee flawless water-resistance. The result is close to perfection, in line with the MP spirit.

“The uniqueness of Hublot – a fully integrated Manufacture – lies in its technical excellence in terms of both its movements and its exterior. R&D is at the heart of our DNA, and each MP, shaped by our profoundly innovative approach, is an opportunity for us to test new sapphires that may later become part of our regular collections. Our MPs are a laboratory, anexploration of what the watchmaking of tomorrow might look like today”.

-Ricardo Guadalupe
Hublot CEO