Hublot bakes a velvet texture into the Big Bang Original's rubber, inside and out

Hublot has built a velvet-like texture directly into the rubber of its Big Bang Original, rather than coating the surface afterward. The new Big Bang Original Soft Touch arrives in two versions, All Black and All Red, each a 43mm titanium chronograph joining the brand's permanent collection at CHF 20,700, EUR 24,400, USD 24,900 or GBP 19,600.

The texture is not a spray or a temporary finish that could wear away over time. Hublot uses a dedicated overmoulding process with custom-engineered tooling to fuse thousands of fine micro-elements into the rubber compound itself, producing a soft, silky surface across the case, bezel, dial and strap.

That rubber sheathes almost the entire watch, inside and out. It covers the case and caseback, the bezel, the screw-down crown, the rectangular chronograph pushers, the dial and the strap, while the watch keeps its 100m water resistance and the layered Big Bang architecture with lateral bumpers.

Six H-shaped titanium screws still ring the bezel, a signature of the Big Bang line since Hublot introduced the model in 2005. Hublot describes the approach as an extension of its 'Art of Fusion' philosophy, the brand's two-decade habit of mixing rubber, gold, ceramic and sapphire into deliberately unexpected combinations.

The two colorways each reference an earlier Hublot release rather than arriving as arbitrary choices. All Black recalls the brand's 2006 monochromatic black model, while All Red pays tribute to its 2018 Red Ceramic watch, itself a showcase for high-tech coloured ceramics.

The dial is made from the same textured rubber compound and carries a raised, carbon-patterned print beneath the applied, stencil-like Arabic numerals first seen on the original 2005 Big Bang. Those numerals are filled with luminescent material, matched by luminescent inserts on the hands.

Two sub-dials are within that layout: small seconds at 9 o'clock and a larger 60-minute chronograph register at 3 o'clock, both framed and snailed. A date window is angled between 4 and 5 o'clock, and the strap uses the classic lozenge pattern with a titanium deployant buckle.

Power comes from the HUB1280 Unico, Hublot's in-house integrated flyback column-wheel chronograph movement. It is built from 354 parts, carries 43 jewels, uses a silicon escapement, beats at 28,800 vibrations per hour and stores a 72-hour power reserve when fully wound.

Hublot has also fitted its patented One-Click system, a quick-release mechanism built into the trapezoidal buttons on the top and bottom of the case. That lets an owner swap the velvety strap without tools, a detail aimed squarely at buyers who plan to wear the watch hard.

Hublot, which we cover for the story behind the brand and for its full retail price list, has built its identity on unconventional case materials since launching the original Big Bang two decades ago. The Soft Touch pair extends that habit from what the watch looks like to how it physically feels in hand.

We previously reported on chief executive Julien Tornare ruling out a Small Bang model and detailing a 5+5 year warranty structure for the brand's watches. That conversation focused on where Hublot positions itself within its own range, a question the Soft Touch launch answers by reinforcing the Big Bang rather than expanding sideways.

Nothing in the brand's own account of the launch suggests the texture is a limited run. Both All Black and All Red join the permanent collection outright, meaning Hublot expects sustained demand rather than treating the finish as a one-off experiment for collectors to chase.

The pricing puts the Soft Touch pair above Hublot's standard steel Big Bang chronographs, reflecting the titanium case and the added manufacturing step of overmoulding the textured compound. Buyers weighing the range against rivals in the sports-chronograph category will find the Unico movement the more direct point of comparison than the finish itself.

Readers curious about Hublot's broader watch and jewelry pricing can find current retail figures for the Big Bang Original Soft Touch and the rest of the range through Hublot, alongside our coverage of style more generally, where material innovation of this kind keeps recurring across categories beyond watches.

Hublot has not indicated production volumes or a specific retail date beyond confirming the two models are available now within its permanent lineup. More information, including full specifications, sits on the brand's own site, which the company points to directly for buyers wanting further detail.