Hublot Big Bang Unico Nespresso Origin 441.UG.5220.RX.NES23

Swiss watch manufacturer Hublot has teamed up with another Swiss brand, Nespresso, to create watches made from recycled coffee capsules. Sustainability is a growing trend in almost all industries, and for the past seven years, Nespresso has been collaborating with renowned Swiss brands from other industries through its “Second Life” initiative to create products made from the same aluminum coffee capsules used by the brand’s espresso machines.

Due to the single-use of Espresso coffee capsules, in 1991, Nespresso developed a special recycling system that separates coffee grounds from aluminum containers, allowing each material to be repurposed and used to create new products. The latest example of what exactly can be produced using recycled espresso capsules is the Hublot Big Bang Unico Nespresso Origin, which is presented in bright green and contains both recycled aluminum and the real coffee grounds used in its construction.

When it comes to design and function, the new Hublot Big Bang Unico Nespresso Origin limited edition watches (ref. 441.UG.5220.RX.NES23) follow in the footsteps of previous Big Bang Unico chronographs. compared to previous models with colorful anodized aluminum housings, such as the purple version. This means that the watch gets a 42 mm diameter, 14.5mm thick, multicomponent case made of aluminum from the inner section of the capsule and a back cover made of recycled titanium for superior corrosion resistance and durability.

As in similar models, sapphire glasses are mounted on the watch face, as well as on the back cover. The water resistance of the new Hublot Big Bang Unico Nespresso Origin is 100 meters. All other major design elements were carried over from previous Big Bang Unico aluminum watches, including a matching crown and buttons located on the 3 o’clock side of the case, as well as the Big Bang branded bezel with six exposed screws.

Compared to previous Big Bang aluminum chronographs, the most obvious visual update of the new Hublot Big Bang Unico Nespresso Origin is its vibrant green color covering the entire case and strap, as well as the skeletonized dial and hands. This specific shade of green is the same shade as the Nespresso “Master Origins Peru Organic” coffee capsules, and as another design hint for this rather unusual collaboration, the green aluminum crown is signed with the famous Nespresso “N” logo.

Additionally, like other Big Bang Unico aluminum models, the new Hublot Big Bang Unico Nespresso Origin watches come with two different green straps, including a fabric strap with a velcro closure and a textured rubber strap with a titanium folding clasp. In addition, since the case uses a proprietary One-Click strap replacement system, the two straps can be quickly detached from the case by simply pressing the buttons located at the top of the corner integrated lugs.

Due to the use of coffee grounds in its construction, the rubber strap has a slightly speckled appearance, and if you look closely at the rubber, you can see small flakes suspended in the green material.

Meanwhile, the additional textile strap that comes with the new Hublot Big Bang Unico Nespresso Origin watches has almost the same overall design as the textile straps that fitted previous Big Bang Unico aluminum chronographs. The replacement strap is made of 100% recycled fabric. Made in collaboration with SingTex (one of Nespresso’s partners, which uses recycled coffee grounds to produce a fabric called Scafé), the fabric strap consists of 5% coffee grounds mixed with 95% recycled polyester. The new Big Bang Unico Nespresso Origin uses this environmentally friendly material for the first time to create a watch strap.

The skeletonized dial and hands, which are equipped with the new Hublot Big Bang Unico Nespresso Origin watches, are almost identical to those found on other aluminum models of Unico chronographs, although they are now painted in the proprietary green color of Nespresso, matching the case and strap. The overall layout of the dial remains completely unchanged, and it is decorated with large Arabic numerals as hour markers, a second counter at 9 o’clock and a 60-minute counter located opposite it, with a date window located inside at 3 o’clock.

Although the basic design of this watch has been around for several years, it reportedly took the Hublot research and development team a full year of close collaboration with Nespresso to achieve a combination of vibrant green hues that manifest themselves in the seven different materials used to create the case, dial, hands and straps of the new Big Bang Unico Nespresso Origin watch.

The new Hublot Big Bang Unico Nespresso Origin watch uses the same HUB1280 Unico automatic movement used in other chronograph models in the current series. Operating at a frequency of 28,800 (4 Hz) with a power reserve of 72 hours, the Hublot HUB1280 Unico is a chronograph movement with a reverse function, controlled by a column wheel, and it is the latest generation of manufactured Calibers thinner than the original Unico series of movements. The skeletonized dial and the back cover of the case allow you to observe the movement from both sides of the watch.

Like the watch itself, the box for the new Hublot Big Bang Unico Nespresso Origin also focuses on environmental friendliness. It is made in a new style that will be used for all future Hublot collections. The body, known as the “Hublot Greenbox”, is made entirely of oak (including hinges), the origin of the wood is tracked, and its production is selected to ensure short supply chains. The box, intended for reuse for personal storage, has a removable inner part that is 98% made up of recycled components such as fabrics, plastic threads and PET, as well as recycled paper and cardboard with environmental labels. As a final touch to the espresso-related design, the wooden box features the Hublot and Nespresso logos using coffee grounds from recycled Nespresso capsules.

The Hublot Unico chronograph in an aluminum case, the new green watch Hublot Big Bang Unico Nespresso Origin will be released in a limited edition of 200 copies. However, due to the use of recycled coffee-themed materials, the new Nespresso edition costs slightly more than its standard counterparts with an official retail price of $24,100. While the use of recycled materials is hardly a new concept in watchmaking, the use of recycled coffee capsules is certainly not seen every day, and this rather extreme example of recycling was specifically made to draw attention to the fact that Nespresso operates a very reliable recycling system.

WATCH

HUB1280 Unico caliber, manufactured, automatic built-in chronograph with column wheel, 43 stones, 354 components, frequency 4 Hz, power reserve 72 hours, functions: watches, minutes, small seconds hand, date, chronograph with 60-minute counter.

HOUSING

Diameter 42.5 mm, height 14.5 mm, satin-finished and polished green anodized recycled aluminum, partially obtained from Nespresso capsules, front and back cover made of sapphire glass, back cover made of eco-titanium, water resistant 100 m.

DIAL

Green openwork, green overlay markers and arrows filled with Super-LumiNova.

STRAP

Green cloth strap, replaceable rubber strap

FEATURES

The series is limited to 200 units.

REFERENCE

441.UG.5220.RX.NES23

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