Black Watches – WatchTime – USA's No.1 Watch Magazine https://www.watchtime.com Wristwatch reviews, watch news, watch database. Tue, 09 Jul 2024 16:37:56 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://www.watchtime.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/WatchTime_Icon-205x205.jpg Black Watches – WatchTime – USA's No.1 Watch Magazine https://www.watchtime.com 32 32 Squaring the Circle: Hublot’s Square Bang https://www.watchtime.com/featured/squaring-the-circle-hublots-square-bang/ https://www.watchtime.com/featured/squaring-the-circle-hublots-square-bang/#respond Sat, 13 Jul 2024 13:03:00 +0000 https://www.watchtime.com/?p=145487 This article was originally published in the Design 2023 Issue of the WatchTime print magazine.

Hardly any other brand stands for such a wide variety of models as Hublot. In addition to diverse materials and colors, this manufacture is now dedicating itself to form and is introducing a square watch. To what degree is the Square Bang a typical Hublot?

When Jean-Claude Biver set out in the 1980s to make the nearly forgotten Blancpain brand attractive again, he formulated a number of principles. One of them was that a Blancpain watch should always be round. Biver left Blancpain long ago, but to this day, those in charge there have upheld that precept of yesteryear.

Ricardo Guadalupe was one of Biver’s early and longtime comrades-in-arms. He was by Biver’s side at Blancpain and later went with him to Hublot. For the past 10 years, Guadalupe has led the brand as its CEO. He admits, “I like shaped watches. It was always a dream of mine to make a square watch one day. Unfortunately, that wasn’t possible when I was at Blancpain.” Guadalupe proved that it is possible at Hublot a few years ago. In 2014, he launched the tonneau-shaped Spirit of Big Bang. There had previously been individual special models in nonround cases, but the Spirit was the first regular line in Hublot’s collection with a shaped case. “The success of the Spirit encouraged me to do the Square Bang,” Guadalupe says. “The Spirit currently makes up 15 percent of our sales. With the help of the Square Bang, in a few years our shaped watches could account for 25 or 30 percent of sales.”

That’s the inside view. But even from an out-of-house perspective, it makes sense for Hublot to break new ground when it comes to case shapes. After all, this brand stands for diversity. “Fusion” is the leitmotif that Biver articulated for Hublot when he joined the company in 2004. And fusion still applies today. Among other things, it can be translated in this context as the combination of very different materials in a single watch.

What began with the combination of a gold case and a rubber strap went on to become an incredible variety. The spectrum ranges from familiar materials, like stainless steel, titanium and carbon fiber, to Hublot’s own developments, such as scratch-resistant Magic Gold, which has 25 percent ceramic content. Hublot has even used materials such as concrete, denim and osmium for its watches. The brand has benefited from the fact that the classic Big Bang case consists of more than 70 individual parts.

But the brand’s disruptive design code can express itself in more than just materials and colors. Just a few years after Biver and Guadalupe reinvented Hublot, the brand released watches with complications in avant-garde cases, such as the spectacular MP05-La Ferrari with 11 barrels and a 50-day power reserve.

The Square Bang is the next step in bringing out Hublot’s expressive design, and specifically that of the Big Bang, into a new shape. There are not many square luxury watches on the market, where about 90 percent of the models are round. As a special configuration of the rectangle, the square is even rarer. Classics like the Cartier Santos or the TAG Heuer Monaco are exceptions to the rule. Thus, from the outset, the Square Bang targets an exclusive clientele — and that is surely not a mistake in an era when most people prefer to distinguish themselves from others.

Similar to the Spirit, the Square Bang clearly reveals that it’s derived from the round Big Bang. The ancestry is evident in the model’s name and still more obvious in its design. The case of the Square Bang consists of even more individual parts than that of the round Big Bang (there are exactly 81), and it is divided like a sandwich into an upper, middle and lower part, as well as the bezel, plus the “ears” attached to the sides. They can all be found on the Big Bang and the Spirit as well, and the same goes for the movement’s container, which is invisible from the outside and around which the case’s components are grouped.

The most typical Hublot feature, however, are the H-shaped screws. They are what really make a watch a Hublot. There are six of them on the bezel: one at the top and another at the bottom, plus two each on the sides. There are two more screws on each strap lug. Between these is the trapezoidal pusher, which lets you instantly detach the case from the strap and replace one wristband with another. The designers of the Square took all these elements from the Big Bang.

The crown is likewise from the Big Bang, while the square pushers are from the Spirit. Once again showing Hublot’s love of detail, the rubber inlay inside the buttons is divided into three small squares — an almost hidden allusion to the shape of the case, similar to the checkerboard pattern on the rubber strap, which is often lined on other Hublot watches.

Since Hublot stands for diversity, it’s no wonder that the Square Bang is available in as many as five different variations: Pure King Gold and Pure Titanium, each optionally with a black ceramic bezel, plus an All Black version in black ceramic. We chose the last-mentioned version for our test. As flashy and colorful as Hublot often appears, this brand was the first to release an all-black watch, which polarized opinion when it was introduced in 2006. Not only were the case, strap and dial black, but also the numerals and hands. Critics complained that the dial was difficult to read, but Biver countered by pointing out that reading the time is not important for a watch that costs more than 10,000 euros.

Hublot subsequently varied the all-black theme in every conceivable direction, and in 2009, also blackened the screws on the bezel, as well as the crown and the pushers, which still were steel or titanium-colored on the original model. The Big Bang Unico All Black, introduced in 2014, brought a bit more brightness back into play. Connoisseurs could peer through its starkly skeletonized dial and admire silver-gray hands rotating above steel movement parts.

The same was true for the Square Bang All Black. It’s a direct descendant of the Big Bang Unico All Black — and the sister of the Spirit of Big Bang Black Magic, so to speak. The watch’s exterior is completely black, i.e., the ceramic case including the screws, crown, pushers, bracelet and clasp. The larger surfaces of the case, which can also be seen from above, are satin finished and create a nice contrast to the polished flanks. These, in turn, are distinguished from the ears and the middle part of the case, which is made of black Kevlar composite. This design underscores the multifaceted styling of the case and assures that the Square Bang Unico All Black makes a very high-quality impression. This positive effect is confirmed by the watch’s good fit. For example, you don’t feel any transition at all when you slide your fingertip from the sapphire crystal to the bezel and back again. The strap length can be easily adjusted to fit any wrist. This is made possible by a total of 15 holes, two of which are connected to the clasp. Since the rubber strap is elastic, the retaining buttons can easily be pressed through the stretchy holes. The ends of the retaining buttons are widened, which prevents them from accidentally slipping out. This assures that the watch rests securely on your wrist at all times. The clasp can be opened easily by pressing two pushers.

In classic watchmaking, you would expect a shaped case to contain a similarly shaped manufacture movement. The Square Bang is indeed equipped with a manufacture movement, but it is round, not square. It is Caliber HUB1280, which is the second, slimmer and improved version of the Unico caliber that we reviewed extensively when we tested the Hublot Big Bang Integral Gray Ceramic in the December 2021 issue of WatchTime. Although you can see a large portion of the handsome movement from the outside, the fact that it isn’t round doesn’t bother us. The discrepancy is hardly noticeable when viewed from above because the movement is surrounded by the square minute track of the dial, leaving only four small corners. The 11 applied minute markers and the two subdials, one for the small seconds at 9 o’clock and one for the elapsed minutes at 3 o’clock, extend far into the movement, thus creating a pleasing impression of visual unity. Overall, there’s so much happening on the dial that there’s no distracting dissonance between the circle and the square.

Peering through the crystal above the dial, you can watch the chronograph caliber at work. When the stopwatch function is started and stopped, you can see how the column wheel at 6 o’clock advances one position at a time and how the intermediate wheel of the horizontal coupling between 7 and 8 o’clock moves alternately toward and away from the center again, which causes the chronograph’s elapsed second hand to begin running and to stop. Through the crystal in the back, you can see how the actuated pushers engage with the movement. There are few movements that let you understand a chronograph’s function so well.

But what about precision? Our measurement on a Witschi timing machine largely confirmed the stable rate of the same movement that we tested in our December 2021 issue of WatchTime. The daily rate was slightly faster, with a gain of 7.3 seconds in 24 hours. We were pleased to discover that the watch ran a bit more accurately on the wrist, where it gained only 5 seconds per day.

Has Hublot successfully squared the circle? Has the Square Bang managed to take on the DNA of the Big Bang and, by extension, also the DNA of the Hublot brand, while becoming a model in its own right that deserves a place in the collection? The answer is a simple yes. The Square Bang is a typical Hublot, and not only because it successfully adapts the round Big Bang to a square shape. This is a large and expressive watch, but it is also a timepiece with no coarseness whatsoever and with numerous harmonious details and all-around high-quality workmanship. This sporty watch is technically state of-the-art, which fully justifies its price of $26,200. And last but not least, it makes a statement on your wrist. The Square Bang Unico All Black is not made to cater to every taste, so it will always retain a high degree of exclusivity. 

To learn more about Hublot, click here, and to subscribe to the WatchTime print magazine, click here.    

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Back in Black: Omega Introduces Three New Seamaster Aqua Terra Models https://www.watchtime.com/featured/back-in-black-omega-introduces-three-new-seamaster-aqua-terra-models/ https://www.watchtime.com/featured/back-in-black-omega-introduces-three-new-seamaster-aqua-terra-models/#respond Thu, 11 Jul 2024 12:50:00 +0000 https://www.watchtime.com/?p=160777 With three new editions, Omega is ushering in a new era for the Seamaster Aqua Terra 150M. Housed in stainless steel cases and attached to bracelets, the new watches are offered in three sizes – 34mm, 38mm and 31mm. Notably, the timepieces feature lacquered black varnish dials and do without the horizontally striped “teakwood” motif — a visual signature established in the 2017 redesign of the Aqua Terra and intended to evoke the deck of a luxury yacht.

Water resistant to 150 meters, the stainless steel cases are 13.4mm, 12.3mm or 12mm thick. The luminescent dials feature the signature arrow-shaped minute hand, a shorter hour hand, an arrow-tipped seconds hand as well as applied diamond-polished indices, all with white Superluminova which emits a blue glow.

The 34mm version catering to women has softer hour markers and a round date window at 6 o’clock, while the other two have bolder triangular markers and the classic Aqua Terra trapezoidal date window.

Inside the case are Master Chronometer certified movements, the caliber 8900 for the 41mm version with 60 hours of power reserve and the caliber 8800 with 55 hours of power reserve for the 38mm and 34mm versions. The sapphire case back reveals the hallmark arabesque Geneva Stripes decoration and red varnished engraving.

The new Seamaster Aqua Terra 150 meter executions are presented on an integrated bracelet with polished central links and brushed external links.

Regardless of size, all watches are priced at $6,100 and already available for purchase on the brand’s website.

To learn more, visit Omega, here.

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Two New Limited Editions join the MeisterSinger Unomat Collection https://www.watchtime.com/featured/two-new-limited-editions-join-the-meistersinger-unomat-collection/ https://www.watchtime.com/featured/two-new-limited-editions-join-the-meistersinger-unomat-collection/#respond Fri, 28 Jun 2024 12:23:00 +0000 https://www.watchtime.com/?p=160623 With the Unomat, MeisterSinger introduced its idea of a sporty watch equipped with a screw-down crown, reinforced steel case back, 30-bar water resistance and protection against magnetism. Three years later, the German brand presents a new generation for the collection. The new model is available in two limited editions: an international edition in arctic blue and one for the Dutch market in orange. Each is limited to 50 pieces.

The dials of the Unomat special editions are a matte, deep black. A small but subtle difference from the previous editions, the 5-minute markers are now tone on tone with the dial. The two-digit hour numerals consist of three-dimensional, cast luminous elements that are applied to the dial and glow intensively at night because they are thicker and can also absorb and emit light from the sides. The central needle hand, which is relatively wide on the Unomat, and the hour markers are also highly luminous.

The case of both edition watches is coated with a deep black DLC layer. The case back and middle section are sandblasted matt, while the bezel is polished. The 43mm cases are mounted on sturdy rubber straps in Arctic blue and orange. The Dutch edition has the crown on the left side.

Inside the Unomat is the Sellita SW400 automatic movement, which has been specially modified for MeisterSinger’s single-hand watches. The date display of this movement is positioned unusually far out, making it 30% larger than on an SW200 movement. It is surrounded by soft layers of iron, making it insensitive to radiation from mobile phones, electrical appliances, magnetic clasps and laboratory equipment.

Pricing for the new MeisterSinger Unomat models is marked at approximately $2,880 when converted to USD.

To learn more, visit MeisterSinger, here.

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Celebrating the 120th Anniversary, Oris Launches Black-on-Black Diver Sixty-Five as Hölstein Edition 2024 https://www.watchtime.com/featured/celebrating-120th-anniversary-oris-launches-black-on-black-diver-sixty-five-as-holstein-edition-2024/ https://www.watchtime.com/featured/celebrating-120th-anniversary-oris-launches-black-on-black-diver-sixty-five-as-holstein-edition-2024/#respond Sat, 01 Jun 2024 12:01:00 +0000 https://www.watchtime.com/?p=159980 The Hölstein Edition is a nice tradition that Oris started five years ago, being a once-per-annum special edition of one of their watches featuring their signature bear paying honor to the brand’s founding city. This week, the Swiss watchmaker launches their latest in the series via a monochromatic black Diver Sixty-Five as their Hölstein Edition 2024.

The model this year is particularly significant as the company— founded in the Waldenburg Valley 1904 not far from Basel— looks back on 120 years of history. Oris does not disappoint: Limited to 250 pieces, this is all-black diver is a dark stunner, powered by the brand’s own 400 caliber with a 120-hour power reserve and a carrying a 10-year warranty.

Except for the white numerals of the date display at 6 o’clock, this retro diver’s watch is entirely in black, a first for Oris. Water-resistant to 100 meters, the 40mm stainless steel case, bezel and crown are coated with black DLC (diamond-like carbon). The hands, hour markers, dial and black rubber strap, including the buckle, perfectly complete the monochrome look.

Oris fans will notice that the bezel has a minute scale instead of the usual 12-hour scale. Another noteworthy detail that will make you smile is the Oris Bear on the case back, in keeping with the nautical theme wearing a swim trunk and sunglasses. Rolf Studer, CO-CEO of Oris, explains:

“It’s always such a joy to see how people all over the world respond to the Oris Bear. He’s just warm. A nice guy. He makes you feel at ease. And here he’s enjoying his leisure time. He’s got no worries. And that’s how we want people to feel when they’re wearing this watch this summer.”

At the heart of the Hölstein Edition 2024 is Oris’s workhorse caliber 400. This cutting-edge automatic movement offers a five-day power reserve, increased anti-magnetism, recommended service intervals of 10 years and a 10-year warranty.

Pricing is marked at CHF 3,900 or approximately $4,300 when converted to USD.

To learn more, visit Oris, here.

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Beautiful in Black: Hanhart Releases Preventor9 S https://www.watchtime.com/featured/beautiful-in-black-hanhart-releases-preventor9-s/ https://www.watchtime.com/featured/beautiful-in-black-hanhart-releases-preventor9-s/#respond Wed, 08 May 2024 12:45:00 +0000 https://www.watchtime.com/?p=159196 Every year has its own color trend, or at least it has in the past. In 2024, color in general is all the rage, with gorgeous hues across the palette. Of course, a true “evergreen” on watch faces is black. No other shade exudes such timeless elegance and can be combined with other colors and nuances in so many ways. The great Coco Chanel was well aware that “black is simply beautiful” and preferred to wear and work with this shade, which is by definition an achromatic color. The iconic designer made the “little black dress” fashionable in 1926. Henry Ford understood the timeless elegance of black as well: “Any customer can have a car painted any color he wants, as long as it is black,” the automaker said back in the 1920s.

In the world of watches too, black offers a bold and often strikingly sporty look. The latest example for this is Hanhart’s Preventor9 S which seamlessly blends past and present. A picture-perfect pilot’s watch the newcomer made in the small town of Gütenbach located in the Black Forest region in Southern Germany takes to the skies in a 40mm stainless steel case with a black PVD coating and is water-resistant to 100 meters.

In addition to the black dial, a prerequisite for a pilot’s watch, the intensely luminescent Arabic numerals and vintage cathedral-style hands allow for perfect nighttime readability, ticking the boxes of the genre. The railroad minute track is another nod to the past, as are the prominent small seconds sub-dial at 9 o’clock and the bold crown.

Behind the closed case back is a modified SW 200 automatic caliber with a power reserve of 38 hours. It has been refined by Dubois-Dépraz.

Limited to 1,000 pieces per year, the watch retails for €1,290 (incl. 19% VAT) or $1,380 when converted to USD. The Preventor9 S comes with a black calf leather strap and is available at select retailers as well as via the brand’s online store.

To learn more, visit Hanhart, here.

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