11 January 2023

TIME FOR RHINOS

Hublot has been supporting SORAI – Save Our Rhinos Africa India –since 2019. An organisation founded by Hublot ambassador and former international cricket star Kevin Pietersen. His work helps keep rhinos threatened with extinction safe from poachers. As with the two previous limited editions, part of the proceeds from the sale of the 100 Big Bang Unico SORAI will be donated to the organisation. The colours chosen for the third limited edition are those of sunset, recalling the heightened danger faced by rhinos as night falls. Here, the sun is a symbol of hope, of a new dawn.

“If purchasing a watch can buy time, then it is a small gesture with huge implications. Saving the rhino is an urgent matter for both the planet and future generations. When brand ambassador and former international cricketer Kevin Pietersen launched SORAI in 2018, we felt it was entirely natural to join forces with him in his race against time to beat the poachers. We have used our limited editions to help him gain access to more state-of-the-art technologies on the ground, put together more surveillance teams, as well as rescue injured or orphaned rhinos, with the single shared aim of shielding this endangered species.”

RICARDO GUADALUPE

HUBLOT CEO

A watch made to support rhinos.

Because the rhino's only predators are humans.

Because every day, every minute and every second counts.

Because each Big Bang Unico SORAI will buy time for endangered rhinos.

Because, on the ground, we need to be faster than the poachers.

Because poaching is one of the greatest threats to biodiversity and risks for species extinction, second only to the destruction of natural habitats.

One of the "BIG FIVE" and the second largest mammal after the elephant, the rhino has seen its numbers drop by 90% over the last ten years. On average, three wild rhinos are killed every day, leaving fewer than 30,000 rhinos currently alive across the world. And while trade in rhino horn has been banned internationally since 1977 by CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), poachers continue to hunt and kill rhinos for their horns, whose price is worth more per kilo than gold.

Since 2018, SORAI has supported projects to protect endangered animals, identify new technologies to combat poaching (thermal cameras, GPS tracking of animals) and raise awareness of the need to protect these endangered species. In line with its motto, BE THECHANGE ", SORAI is pushing change and working to prevent poaching and hunting. There are many ways to combat poaching (raising public awareness, education, law enforcement, transmitters for tracking animals, increasing ranger numbers and creating sanctuaries for injured or orphaned animals). However, prevention and active rangers on the ground remain the most effective tools.

Proceeds from the sale of the Big Bang Unico SORAI will go directly to projects supported by SORAI to equip helicopters with cameras, raise awareness in schools about the consequences of poaching and to provide backup to rangers on the ground. These strategies are implemented where the need is biggest and most pressing: South Africa. South Africa is home to more than 80% of the world’s total population of rhinos, with the majority of poaching taking place in Kruger National Park, as it has the largest population of wild white rhinos left on earth.

“Our actions on the ground (surveillance teams and equipment to prevent poaching, rhino sanctuaries and refuges) are vital. However, in order to act, we first need to raise public awareness, increase publicity and make this a visible cause. Hublot is helping us on the ground by donating proceeds from the sale of the Big Bang Unico SORAI and by lending the brand's voice to our cause to bring it to global attention. In the three years since we began this joint venture, it has yielded concrete results.”

KEVIN PIETERSEN

FOUNDER OF SORAI, HUBLOT AMBASSADOR
FORMER INTERNATIONAL CRICKETER

Big Bang Unico SORAI

Sculpted from polished and microblasted rhino-grey ceramic specially developed for this limited edition, the Big Bang Unico SORAI features an openworked dial featuring the glowing colours of sunset when the sky catches fire. It is at nightfall that poachers swing into action, cloaked in darkness and more difficult to track. The colours of daybreak: yellow, orange, purple and pink represent the hope brought by dawn, of a new day and a chance at change. Inside the 44 mm diameter case of the Big Bang Unico SORAI, beats the Unico self-winding Manufacture movement with a 72-hour power reserve. Thanks to the patented One Click interchangeable strap system, the Big Bang Unico SORAI can be worn with a grey fabric and Velcro version or a black, purple and orange camouflage design reflecting the hues of sunset and sunrise.