Hublot celebrates the cryptocurrency era with the Big Bang Unico Ledger

Ever on the cutting-edge, Hublot flexes its muscles as a creative powerhouse with one of its most innovative watches yet. The Swiss manufacture is teaming up with crypto and digital asset platform Ledger to fuse world-class technology with an ancient currency and traditional watchmaking craftsmanship.

Intrigued yet? You should be. The Big Bang Unico Ledger packs a punch in more ways than one. Not only is it limited to just 50 pieces, but it also comes with a special-edition Ledger Nano X crypto wallet and presentation box.
And then there’s the watch itself. The Big Bang Unico is a household name for Hublot connoisseurs and the blueprint of this exclusive release. The timepiece features the iconic bold cues of the brand, from the large 42mm black ceramic case to the in-house skeletonised automatic chronograph movement.
The time-telling elements on the openworked dial flaunt an enigmatic black-on-black aesthetic, spanning the hands, seconds counter and minute track to the date track and date window at 3 o’clock. Enshrining these like a gleaming halo is a high-contrast golden bezel, cast in solid Electrum.
Few people would immediately recognize the metal. It dates back to the Lydian Kingdom of the Iron Age (1200-600 BC) in western Asia Minor. The Lydians are believed to be the originators of gold and silver coins, and electrum is a natural gold-and-silver alloy they used to mint the earliest known coins.

Technicians in Hublot’s R&D laboratory developed a stainless steel version of this alloy, comprising equal parts of gold and silver. It wraps around the dial as a robust bezel. Stamped six times around its outer edge is Bitcoin’s motto, the Latin verse ‘Vires in Numeris’ or ‘strength in numbers’. And so the world’s oldest and newest currencies are dramatically fused in this thematic timepiece.

“Having served as the Timekeeping Partner of January’s Crypto Finance Conference 2022 in St. Moritz, it brings me great pleasure to introduce a watch that fuses the many tantalising possibilities that link high-end crypto and state-of-the-art mechanical watchmaking,” says Hublot CEO Ricardo Guadalupe. “History will show the Hublot Big Bang Unico Ledger as a landmark collaboration that set the new standard for forward-thinking people who love watches, crypto and shaping the future.”

Ledger’s mark on this collaboration is evident from the logo engraved on the caseback to the matte black Ledger & Hublot Nano X, a limited-edition crypto key that solely accompanies purchase of the watch. The Nano X is Ledger’s flagship digital asset hardware wallet used by millions of customers worldwide who trust in its exceptional encryption and security.
“Hublot and Ledger both value creativity, scarcity and community,” says Ledger CEO Pascal Gauthier. “Our collaboration merges the oldest currency from ancient civilisations and cryptocurrency, in the same way that Hublot fuses innovative materials with horology. The combination of the watch and the limited-edition Ledger Nano X becomes a gateway to a self-custody future and the metaverse. We couldn’t be more proud to work with our friends at Hublot on these incredible pieces.”

Collectors who secure one of the 50 limited-edition Big Bang Unico Ledger timepieces will delight in the three-piece acquisition of the watch, Ledger hardware wallet and presentation box forged from smoked black sapphire. The design of each plays on the theme of openness in reference to the transparency of blockchain and decentralised currency, while also celebrating this core spirit at Hublot and Ledger. Just like its collaborators, the Hublot Big Bang Unico Ledger is a game-changer, heralding how the most ancient and the most advanced will creatively coexist in the future.

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