Tennis
Hublot Unveils Big Bang Unico Novak Djokovic Watch Made Of Racquets
Source
forbes.com
Hublot is upping its game with the introduction of the Big Bang Unico Novak Djokovic watch that honors the mindset and precision of its namesake. Not typically deeply involved in the tennis world, Hublot named Djokovic – one of the finest players of all time – a brand ambassador just about three years ago. He has won 24 Grand Slam Singles titles along with many other top victories. The new Hublot Big Bang Unico watch that bears his name is designed to reflect his commitment to mastering challenges and perfecting his game. It is lighter than a tennis ball and made with recycled racket heads, shirts of Djokovic and more.
Now, he has put his mind to helping design the new watch, of which just 100 pieces will be made. According to Hublot, the brand challenged Djokovic to create a lightweight, sustainable watch worthy of both partners. In Hublot’s R&D laboratory for new ideas and materials, the brand crated a matte-blue-hued recycled composite that is made of 25 Head rackets along with 17 dark blue and 15 light blue Lacoste shirts that Djokovic wore during the 2023 season (the year he made history with 24 Grand Slam singles titles).
The composite material, along with a bio-sourced Epoxy resin fused in, offers a unique color of blue and features fragments of the textiles intermixed for a camouflage effect. The look is offset with a bright yellow and a bright white aluminum chronograph pusher recalling the tennis ball.
The watch is powered by the brand’s Unico Manufacture chronograph movement consisting of 354 parts and offering 72 hours of power reserve. The self-winding movement has been reimagined – turning away from typical brass parts and featuring sky blue PVD aluminum mainplate and parts – adding to the lighter weight of the watch. In fact, by switching the movement materials, the brand lost approximately 27 percent of the cliaber’s weight.
Additionally, to reduce weight, Hublot opted out of the tpical sapphire cryatal and instead turned to Gorilla glass, a tempered material that is twice as light as sapphire. Djokovic’s logo is visible on the glass and on the oscillating weight.
The watch is sold with two straps: an elastic sweatband type strap that attaches using the brand’s One Click interchangeable system, and a blue Velcro strap with aluminium bezel. The sweatband strap weighs less than 50 grams and is lighter than a tennis ball.
Water resistant to 100 meters, it features a composite case back and is housed in a sustainably sourced wooden oak watch box. It is also sold with a Lacoste sport wristband and a t-shirt signed by Djokovic. It retails for $52,700.
It should be noted that Djokovic is no newcomer to the watch brand ambassador world. He once wore Audemars Piguet, and later was an ambassador for Seiko.