The Hublot Big Bang, launched in 2005, is a 44.5 mm chronograph in a porthole-inspired case, with a visible screw-down bezel and a rubber strap. It was offered in steel, gold and later in ceramic and carbon, and is water resistant to 100 metres. It runs an automatic chronograph movement based on a Swiss base calibre, adapted by Hublot. I could not confirm the exact calibre for the first release from a single source.

The Big Bang was the product of Jean-Claude Biver’s turnaround of Hublot after he took over in 2004, and it made the “Art of Fusion” idea the brand’s marketing line: combining unlike materials such as gold, rubber, ceramic and carbon. The case was oversized for the time and its look divided opinion from the start.

The Big Bang is credited with rescuing the brand and launching the big-case luxury sports watch of the 2000s. The line remains in production in a large number of versions, and the 2005 original has been superseded by updated generations.