Hublot is back again with another limited edition luxury watch, and this time it’s a unique Big Bang Tourbillon made in collaboration with British artist Samuel Ross – best known for his modern luxury brand, A-COLD-WALL. Called the Big Bang Tourbillon SR_A, this limited edition $127,000 mechanical tourbillon watch is 44 millimeters of incisive craftsmanship, using gorgeous micro-blasted titanium throughout the body and selectively-colored rubber in the straps and on the crown.
Don’t be shocked by the price; tourbillons are the most luxurious watches you can find on the market. The Big Bang Tourbillon SR_A watch is a luxury item of the highest caliber, which is why it’s staggeringly expensive compared to the already eye-watering Porsche Design Chronograph 1 Utility – Limited Edition watch – in fact, a single Tourbillon SR_A piece is more expensive than both the aforementioned Porsche Design watch and a brand-new 2023 Porsche 911 combined. The explanation for that is simple: only 50 pieces will ever be produced.
Designer: Samuel Ross (via Hublot)
Evidently, this collaboration has been an ongoing effort between Hublot and Samuel Ross since 2020, and it shows. The entire watch is filled with thoughtful visual and mechanical design, right down to the honeycomb-like hexagonal pattern proliferating the entire watch, including its strap.
The Big Bang Tourbillon SR_A strap comes in three different colors, most notably the Vivid Green smooth rubber strap equipped with a shiny titanium clasp. The watch can also be fitted with a black or white rubber strap, both of which look just as elegant thanks to the SR_A’s micro-blasted titanium case and bezel which are covered in little hexagonal holes, matching the visual style throughout the design.
From a purely mechanical perspective, the SR_A impresses with its 72 hour power reserve and HUB6035 automatic tourbillon movement, which is built for gravity-defying precision. Unlike chronograph watches, tourbillon movement relies entirely on balancing a rotating wheel inside of a contraption. In this case, it uses a device called a “mainspring” to maintain the wheel’s balance. The internal powering mechanism must eventually be recharged – by hand, mind you – by winding the crown a certain number of times after the power reserves run out. The SR_A can keep a charge for 72 hours, as previously mentioned, while surviving water submersion up to 30 meters.
The automatic tourbillon system is made up of 243 moving components in an intricate array that measures 33.8mm x 33.8mm x 7.37mm. At the center is a micro-rotor that drives its automatic winding system. Watching all the moving pieces in the Big Bang Tourbillon SR_A work in unison is a sight to behold, especially when the entire thing is dismantled – as you can see in the official Hublot collaboration video linked below:
