samuel ross blasts and hammers titanium to forge hublot’s big bang tourbillon watch

Samuel ross creates big bang tourbillon timepiece

Samuel Ross has been collaborating with the Swiss watchmaker Hublot since 2020. It may be safe to say that the artist and designer already knows the visual language of the watchmaker alongside its penchant for titanium. Their established relationship led to the creation of the Big Bang Tourbillon SR_A watch, a timepiece forged from micro-blasted titanium and paired with interchangeable rubber straps.

Hublot began the collaboration by entrusting its automatic tourbillon to Samuel Ross. The piece is flanked by a micro-rotor on the dial side and three sapphire bridges, forming a maelstrom of large and tiny discs whirring and operating right on the wearer’s wrist. Protecting the automatic tourbillon came next, and this is where Samuel Ross lent his sculptural work by encasing it in micro-blasted titanium.

images by Hublot

Hublot’s titanium watch pairs with rubber straps

After Samuel Ross fastened the screws, the design of Hublot’s Big Bang Tourbillon watch gleamed in titanium gray. He even extended the use of titanium to the clasp of the timepiece, which features a roughly laser-engraved Hublot logo. The crown is also over-molded in gray rubber to further spotlight the monochrome look of the watch, making the tourbillon bridge appear in a neutral shade.

Such a muted color is essential for Samuel Ross, allowing him to accent the titanium palette with bursts of color. Three smooth full rubber straps come with the Big Bang Tourbillon watch in titanium, led by pop green and followed by classic white and black. These combinations underscore the titanium elements of the watch while adding a splash of vibrancy through the colored straps.

honeycomb patterns appear throughout the titanium watch

Watch with polished, brushed and hammered titanium

When all is said and done, Samuel Ross doubled down and carved honeycomb patterns around the Big Bang Tourbillon watch, from the titanium foundation to the rubber straps. Their appearance gives the timepiece a mix of an edgy and sophisticated look that shares the limelight with the titanium and colored rubber straps.

Hublot’s recent timepiece was then polished, brushed, hammered, and perforated to create a lean and imposing silhouette that induces a sense of motion. The result is a lightweight watch made of micro-blasted titanium and designed with an emphasis on minimal aesthetics by Samuel Ross.

The Big Bang Tourbillon SR_A by Samuel Ross also features technical design from the 282-component Manufacture HUB6035 caliber, beating at 3 Hz during its 72-hour power reserve. For its initial release, Hublot is producing a limited quantity of 50 watches from the series, each priced at 132,000 EUR.

for Hublot’s Big Bang Tourbillon SR_A watch, Samuel Ross micro-blasts titanium