20 March 2019

BIG BANG SANG BLEU II

Big Bang Sang Bleu II King Gold - Dial close-up

The art of tattooing is elevated in a new masterpiece of architectural watchmaking

More ambitious than the Big Bang Sang Bleu launched in 2016, the new Big Bang Sang Bleu II passionately channels the design skills of world famous tattoo artist Maxime Plescia-Buchi. A case with more finely-chiselled lines, conveyed in three dimensions. An expression of the passage of time, the hands - two elongated diamonds and an arrow - are stylised fragments of tattoos, set above a hypnotic chronographic movement.

“Thanks to Maxime Plescia-Buchi and Sang Bleu, the art of tattooing has evolved to reach new heights. For this second collaboration, we wanted to reflect on this development by extending the motif across the case and hands. Each of these illustrates the graphic style of this illustrious tattoo artist.”

Ricardo Guadalupe

CEO OF HUBLOT

Dial and hands of the Big Bang Sang Bleu II King Gold

Even more disruptive, the Big Bang Sang Bleu II channels the creative inspiration of Maxime Plescia-Buchi into its three-dimensional angles and edges. The motif spans the case, cutting into its hexagonal bezel, and carving into the sapphire crystal, juxtaposed against the hands with their geometric lines, and moulded onto the interchangeable bracelet. The dial plays with transparency, allowing glimpses of the Unico movement. It is feat of construction, almost architectural in scope, in a 45-mm case.

Within the meticulously interlaced geometric lines of this new case lies the HUB1240 Unico manufacture self-winding chronograph movement: the chronograph seconds are tracked along a straight hand, whilst the chronograph minutes complete their laps on one of the two discs on the dial. It oscillates at a frequency of 28,800 vibrations per hour, for a period of 72 hours. Two hundred titanium and one hundred King Gold pieces will be released.

“Geometry is the universal expression of an abstracted and systematized “weltanschauung”. It carries value, ideas and messages through time and space, and thus unifies human kind in itself as an ultimate manifestation of the Human Mind.”

Maxime Plescia-Buchi

Big Bang Sang Bleu II Titanium - case close-up

Dial and hands of the Big Bang Sang Bleu II Titanium

A key component of contemporary Pop Culture, tattooing is no longer the sole preserve of a largely masculine underground scene. From a primitive practice to a celebrated field of Art, and cultural phenomenon, its growing creative influence shows tattooing is not merely a trend but a cultural shift which will last and influence all generations to come.

The new Big Bang Sang Bleu II is the horological expression of a tattoo, set in motion with timeless precision, unifying materials and crafts through geometry by Sang Bleu’s founder.