Released early last year in Geneva, the Big Bang Unico GMT — which technically is a dual time zone watch and not a true GMT, as there’s no hand running on a 24-hour scale — is the first arrival in the Big Bang family with a multiple time zone indication, powered by a then new in-house caliber with some tricks up its sleeve. Practical and understated aren’t often words that come to mind when the name Hublot is part of the topic, giving us further grounds to dive into the new piece to see whether it has the chops to convert some of those less keen on the perpetual brand.
Being part of the Hublot Big Bang line, the case of the Unico GMT Titanium is business as usual for the most part. An engraved stencil-style 12-hour scale adorns its bezel, sadly serving no real functional purpose, though visually pleasing. Most notably, its broad rectangular pushers, which operate the local time hand, provide clear distinction between this and its chronograph siblings. If anything, the design is somewhat reminiscent of earlier Big Bang Chronograph models. Using a screw-down crown and well-sealed push-pieces, the new replica model is good for a water resistance of 100m, perfect for those travel days where a little pool time could be included.
The luxury replica Hublot 1251 self-winding caliber fitted in this new model packs quite the punch, both in terms of technical prowess and design. To begin with, its quickset indication is superbly practical and easy to use, with the top pusher advancing the home time by an hour, and the lower pusher setting time back. A safety lock-out mechanism is built in to block the ability to push both pushers at once.
There’s really nothing special here, as the Unico GMT replica rolex is fitted with the same one-click quick changing strap setup as all its Big Bang siblings. That said, Hublot rubber straps are some of the more comfortable offerings on the market, and this model is just the same. The stock strap is blue with black accents, as previously mentioned, though we can’t help but wonder what it would look like on a matching shade of slate grey.
That said, it was Miami, where the boldness of the fake Hublot is welcomed with open arms, but even in more conservative settings this piece is just under-the-radar enough to get by. As noted above, the piece wears very comfortably, though at 45mm it’s fairly substantial on the wrist. I was also surprised by its overall heft considering its titanium casing.
However, this is another solid release from Hublot that strives to win over the enthusiast sect. We all know the brand takes a fair bit of heat for its “limited edition everything” replica watches, and the fact that it seems as though they release a new watch every day of the year, but recently they’ve been consistently proving that there’s much more to the brand than flash and marketing jargon.