Sandra‘s Closet

In an ever-changing world, Hublot stays true to its philosophy of being first, unique, different: unveiling a new Big Bang, christened Millennial Pink, designed in collaboration with Garage Italia and Lapo Elkann. A new approach to timekeeping, one which looks to the future, setting trends. More than a watch, it is a state of mind. Gender Neutral.

«At Hublot, we are particularly proud of the Art of Fusion. But the list of things we cherish also includes the ability to innovate, to change, to be different, and, of course, our watchmaking expertise. This Big Bang Millennial Pink that we have created with Lapo Elkann from Garage Italia sits perfectly within this pioneering vision. Our expertise in materials technology has enabled us to create a unique colour for this watch, Millennial Pink, symbolic of the world available to us, in its constant state of flux.»
Ricardo Guadalupe – CEO of HUBLOT

«At Garage Italia, we want to be part of a world where the character of every person is defined by their love of life and their inclusivity, rather than by their power or their superiority. More than simply a product, we want to create something which represents a positive change.»
Lapo Elkann – FOUNDER & CREATIVE CHAIRMAN of GARAGE ITALIA

For some, it is powder pink or pastel; for others, a subtle blend of beige and salmon, apricot and grapefruit. Intriguing and undefinable, Millennial Pink takes its place today as a pink which is not in the exclusive realm of women, nor that of men, but truly a symbol of a completely new generation. This special hue marks a seismic shift which will change the status quo: established traditional values are being reconsidered through a lens of positivity. Pink – this pink – expresses a gentle, inclusive and confident approach to life. A fresh, young vision, full of substance, which redefines style.

This chromatic illustration of a new era could not escape the notice of Lapo Elkann, Founder & Creative Chairman of Garage Italia, and his team. It is this way of thinking, shared by Hublot and its partner Garage Italia, which gave rise to the Big Bang Millennial Pink.

Its 42-mm case sets the tone: made from modern, lightweight aluminium, a unisex and monochrome material, anodised, satin-finished and through-tinted millennial pink. This technical feat has been made possible thanks to research undertaken by Hublot’s engineers. This highly specific colour is obtained by anodisation, a process which both protects and decorates a part, and which has the advantage of giving the case and its components the desired pastel shade combined with remarkable resistance to scratches and impacts. Its proportions ensure it sits perfectly on any wrist. Gender Neutral. The Unico chronograph manufacture movement, boasting a 72-hour power reserve, has a chronograph mechanism on the dial side and a column wheel.

The highly versatile Big Bang Millennial Pink is supplied with two straps. The first is made from rubber and has a deployant buckle made from titanium covered with a decorative layer of the same anodised and satin-finished millennial pink aluminium as the case. The second strap is a mix of Velcro and knitted PES fabric, and is secured with a sporty buckle in millennial pink anodised and polished aluminium. The two straps are easily interchangeable thanks to Hublot’s exclusive patented One Click system.

Disruptive, creating new codes for traditional luxury, the Big Bang Millennial Pink produced in collaboration with Garage Italia will only be available in a very exclusive limited edition of 200 pieces. Price: CHF 19.900,  € 20.700, $ 20.900 or £ 17.300.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Hublot and © Sandra Bauknecht
This post is sponsored. To stay up-to-date, follow: @Hublot #Hublot #BigBangMillennialPink

My avid readers know how much I love Munich, the city I lived in for eight years and the place where many important events in my life took place. Every little corner holds a memory. Therefore I was over the moon when HUBLOT invited me to join them for a «Wiesn Gaudi» to celebrate the launch of the amazing BIG BANG BAVARIA in bronze. Two renowned houses, HUBLOT & MEINDL, have joined forces to fuse innovation and tradition to celebrate Bavarian craftmanship and what could be more appropriate to present this «Art of Fushion» during the world’s most renowned festival—Oktoberfest?!

Traditions provide new generations with a unique way of reconnecting with their identity, it is why they last. Braudel said that in order to hope, in order to move forward, we also need to know where we come from.The Big Bang Bavaria is a concentration of history and traditions.

Jean-Claude Biver, Chairman of Hublot

When I arrived, I was brought directly to my hotel, Roomers Munich, which celebrated its soft opening during those days. Unfortunately, there was no time for me to change as the minute I entered the lobby, I had to leave immediately due to a fire alarm. What a pity!

In my beautiful room waited a surprise for me: a MEINDL dirndl that features ultra soft buckskin, the iconic material MEINDL has been relentlessly working with for many decades on its traditional production.

With Ricardo Guadalupe enjoying the first beer after the unveiling of the Big Bang Bavaria.

As if I had a premonition of what was to come, I was dressed already in Bavarian style and ready to go to the HUBLOT Boutique on Munich’s prestigious Maximilianstrasse where the BIG BANG BAVARIA was unveiled at 4pm on the dot in true «Wiesn» spirit with Markus Meindl, CEO of Meindl, present uttering the cry «O’zapft is», Ricardo Guadalupe, CEO of Hublot, opened the first barrel of the event just like at the Oktoberfest. It took three taps of the mallet to get the beer flowing.

«O’zapft is» – Markus Meindl and Ricardo Guadalupe

But how does the new watch look like? Cut from bronze, a material created in 3000 BC that has the advantages of non-magnetism, resistance to corrosion and a unique appearance, it is strapped onto two robust, hand-embroidered bracelets in deer leather.

Centuries of expertise and tradition lie behind the BIG BANG BAVARIA strap. Firstly, the craftsmanship of a family that has been passing down its passion for leather from father to son since 1683. The BIG BANG BAVARIA strap is reminiscent of the «Lederhosen», the short leather breeches that originated in Bavaria and have been the traditional clothing of the mountain people since the 18th century.

Just like the garment from which the strap draws inspiration, it is cut in deer leather and hand-embroidered with a pattern only possible to create on deer leather. Traditional sewing gives a 3D effect to the leather tanned using the MEINDL tradition.

It takes 3 to 4 months to tan the hide using an age-old technique. The hides are salted then plunged into a limestone-based liquid before being washed, then treated by hand with cod-liver oil and dried. The last two steps are repeated several times until the leather is entirely soaked with the oil. The hide is left to dry in the sun to develop a light brown colour. To bring out the velvet character of the leather is then rubber with sandpaper. MEINDL then applies and brushes the leather with several tropical wood bark colorants, a procedure repeated up to 5 times. The products used are all without preservatives or chemicals to respect nature.

Big Bang Bavaria version one

Delivered with two «One Click» straps, the BIG BANG BAVARIA easily changes its look thanks to its patented attachment system. There’s a version with a cuff in natural light brown deer leather, enhanced by two leather tabs embroidered with a deer head. The second version comes in «altsalzburg» (black-brown)-coloured deer leather, embroidered with oak leaves.

Big Bang Bavaria version two

The BIG BANG BAVARIA beats to the rhythm of Unico, the Hublot manufacture movement, with 330 components for a 72-hour power reserve—a self-winding bidirectional movement with a flyback chronograph and a column wheel on the side of the dial.

The BIG BANG BAVARIA is available now in the Hublot Boutiques (88 all around the world) in a limited edition of 100 pieces for  CHF 26900 / € 27900.

After our first beer in the boutique, we went to the one & only Käfer’s-Wiesn-Schänke – a must at the Oktoberfest – also for HUBLOT! While enjoying the iconic Bavarian «Schmankerl», the crispy duck and knödel (dumplings), I was singing to the amusement of my table-mates (all from the countries) to all the German songs played by the live band. But no worries, I can be pretty contagious and finally we were all  standing on the seats, dancing the night away.

Such a great piece but unfortunately a little too big on me… 

One of those trips I will always remember and a new memory added to one of my favorite cities. Thank you Hublot! Please create a BIG BANG BAVARIA in dirndl-style. I am convinced I would not be the only one loving it!

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Hublot and © Sandra Bauknecht

What happens when a cigar maker fuses with a watchmaker?!
They create the «Art of Fushion» und come up with something very special. HUBLOT celebrates 20 years of the most sought after cigar “The Fuente Fuente Opus X’’ with a Classic Fusion collection of three limited edition pieces.

«For any cigar connoisseur, the Fuente Fuente Opus X is an absolute reference, as much in terms of its remarkable flavour as in the quality of its execution. A quest for the finest products and for manufacturing excellence with which we at Hublot totally identify. We are very happy to be able to join in the celebrations of the two decades of this exceptional puro through our third collaboration with the Arturo Fuente house.
A partnership that is rolling along nicely!»
Ricardo Guadalupe, CEO Hublot

“The rarest cigar in the world” according to purists, the Fuente Fuente Opus X is celebrating its 20th anniversary. It started in 1980 when Carlos Fuente set up his cigar factory in the Dominican Republic, near the town of Santiago against everyone’s advice. It was here where, after several attempts, he and his family succeeded in growing tobacco plants that produced wrapper leaf of the highest quality, with a uniquely powerful and rich flavour. He was profoundly confident of achieving this result as the place bore a strange resemblance to the “Pinar del Rio”, the valley in which the best tobacco is grown in Cuba. Thus was born the “Chateau de la Fuente”, the first of the Fuente factories on Hispaniola, the continuity of the Fuente & Cie business that his grandfather had founded in Cuba in 1912.

To celebrate this success, he decided to produce the king of cigars, for which no concession would be made in terms of quality: the Fuente Fuente Opus X. This began with the labour: before being authorised to work on this project, the “torcedores”—the cigar rollers—had to undergo an additional 10 months of specific training.

They had to be capable of meeting Don Fuente’s requirements: the cigar had to be composed of 9 leaves of tobacco, while other factories would make do with 5 for their prestigious models (one for the wrapper, one for the binder and then 3 more leaves for the filler, the heart of the cigar). Once rolled, they were then “laid down” for at least 2 years before export to let their different aromas blend harmoniously through maturation.

Carlitos Fuente in front of the Opus X production room.

Carlos Fuente shares the inspiration that guided him: «I wanted to reproduce something that already existed in my memory. I wanted to go back in time, to my childhood. I wanted to go back to the happiest episodes of my life. I wanted my grandfather to be proud of me, my father too, and for my children to be so too one day. It was something that I owed to myself to do.» 20 years later, the Fuente Fuente Opus X has achieved success among connoisseurs, who fall over themselves to get hold of it.

Ricardo Guadalupe and Carlito Fuente

The partnership between the watchmaker in Nyon and the Arturo Fuente cigar maker first saw the light in 2012, on the occasion of the Fuente Foundation’s centenary. It is the result of a friendship between the men presiding over the destiny of two houses which share common values of meticulousness, manufacture, selection of the finest materials, production organised into workshops and, of course the quest for excellence. This partnership has already produced two horological creations.

It is therefore perfectly natural today for Hublot to choose to join the 20th anniversary celebrations for the Opus X, by launching three commemorative watches in limited editions, marking the third collaboration between the two brands. These three Hublot Classic Fusion 45mm Fuente 20th Anniversary Special Edition models will be limited to a production of 20 watches each.

The first has a 45-mm case in satin-finished black ceramic. Its bezel is cut from the same material. Its sumptuous blue dial is adorned with the famous X decorating the rings of the legendary puro, doubled for the occasion to become the number 20 in Roman numerals. It is topped by red gold plated hands and indexes with a “20 Years” mention apposed at 6 o’clock. Its back is engraved with an exclusive illustration of the Fuente family with the “Château de la Fuente, Fuente Fuente Opus X 20 Years” mention, as well the model’s limited edition series number. Its black alligator strap is lined with rubber to provide the wearer greater comfort.

The second version has sublime livery in brushed titanium. Its case and bezel are finely embossed with engravings reproducing tobacco leaf motifs interlinked into the letter X. The engravings on its back are partially lacquered in blue. The strap in grey alligator, with a deployant buckle clasp, is stitched in blue and is also lined with rubber.

The third version is in King Gold, the precious red gold developed by the Hublot house. It has the same engravings and features as the titanium model, while adding a brown strap.

All three feature the HUB1112 calibre, an automatic movement with a 42-hour power reserve. They are delivered in a case that serves as a humidor, a cigar box specially designed by Hublot so as to regulate the humidity and allow the correct conservation of the modules.

I really like this Art of Fushion!

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Hublot and © Sandra Bauknecht