Last week Hublot unveiled its new Bi-Retrograde Chrono, destined to be the official watch of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
Looking at the photos the first thing you’ll probably notice is that the dial is unlike any Hublot you have seen before. That’s because this is first ever Big Bang Unico Bi-Retrograde Chrono.
Created specifically for the game of soccer (or football depending where you’re reading this), the chronograph is capable of tracking 60 minute and 60 second intervals. The former is divided into two further segments, 45 minutes (the length of one half of a soccer match), with an additional 15 minutes for injury time.
The idea being of course that the referee would activate the chronograph at the start of each half and use it to track the remaining time in the match. Injury time would be manually calculated and then added on at the end as required.
To control the chronograph there are two push-buttons on either side of the crown for START, STOP and RESET; the push-button at 2 o’clock is also used to show the period of time selected from the following 4 options: 1st half, half time, 2nd half and end of match, indicated by a window in the center of the dial at 12 o’clock.
Arguably the retrograde seconds indicator isn’t that relevant in the context of a soccer match but it would certainly look cool flying back across the dial every 60 seconds. Plus it makes the watch just that little bit more practical for everyday use outside of timing a football match.
Surprisingly Hublot has never produced a watch with a bi-retrograde function before, and certainly not one with a central chronograph. As such the patent-pending automatic HUB1260 manufacture movement took 18 months to develop. Comprised of some 385 components it is, according to Hublot at least, one of the only movements of its type in the watchmaking industry today.
The actual time (hours and minutes) is shown on a separate sub-dial at 6 o’clock. At 9 o’clock a small, three-spoke hand rotates on a constant basis to indicate the seconds and to let you know the movement is still functioning correctly. The power reserve is approximately 72 hours.
Presented in the 45.5mm “Big Bang Unico” case, the Bi-Retrograde Chrono or “Soccer Bang” as it’s often called, is available in two versions: firstly, an 18K King Gold version with carbon fiber bezel limited to just 100 pieces and, secondly, a black ceramic version, also with a carbon fiber bezel, which is limited to 200 numbered pieces.
Source: Hublot
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