To mark the Lunar New Year, Hublot has created an eye-catching rendition of its iconic Big Bang, complete with a 3D dragon.
Of call the Chinese zodiac characters, the dragon represents the ultimate in prosperity and power so it’s little surprise that watchmaker Hublot as chosen the motif for its Big Bang Titanium Dragon, its timepiece homage to the Lunar New Year. Drawing inspiration from the traditional art of Chinese paper cutting, the Big Bang Titanium Dragon layers its hands, wheels and H-shaped screws to form a 3D silhouette of an eastern dragon.
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Created in collaboration with the Chinese artist Chen Fenwan, this limited edition of 88 pieces is the perfect fusion of tradition and modernity, combining metaphors and symbols in the spirit of Hublot: first, unique, different.
In the Chinese calendar, 2024 marks the return of the Dragon, which comes around every 12 years. This celestial creature, revered in Chinese culture, is associated with prosperity. A symbol of luck, strength and wisdom, the dragon is also an imperial icon that embodies life and immortality. Loong is a symbol, an icon, and the universal auspicious meaning is the foundation of Loong culture.
Celebrating the Year of the Dragon, this watch is also a metaphor for the ‘Art of Fusion’ embodied by the eastern dragon, which takes on the features of nine different animals—the eyes of a prawn, the horns of a deer, the mouth of a bull, the nose of a dog, the whiskers of a catfish, the mane of a lion, the long tail of a snake, the scales of a fish and the claws of an eagle.
Equivalent to the year 4722 in the Chinese calendar, 2024 marks the year of the Wood Dragon. Through artist Chen Fenwan’s paper-cutting expertise, Hublot pays homage to wood through the natural fibres that form the soul and spirit of paper.
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This piece is a metaphor for the ‘Art of Fusion’ and the art of continually reimagining materials and their areas of expression. A symbol of Hublot’s philosophy, the new Hublot creates a different way to interpret time through its distinctive features. Its components – hands, cogs or screws – are positioned in multi-dimensional layers to form a dragon’s silhouette created in paper cut-outs by Fenwan.
The dragon’s head is made up of five layers that alternate between hands, wheels and H-shaped screws, with a body and scales that extend onto the strap. The watch’s colours reflect those of the paper cut-out sculpture.
The new piece also celebrates one of the greatest cultural legacies of Chinese art: the art of paper cutting. This is a craft that originated in China around 2,000 years ago, coincinding with the invention of paper. Chinese paper cutting has been on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity since 2009 and is used to express the moral principles, philosophies and aesthetic ideals of its creators. It is used in festivities to honour events such as weddings and births, with paper-cut decorations symbolising happiness and good luck.
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In a 42 mm titanium case, Hublot transposes the layered effects of paper cutting into a multi-level dial construction overlaying a base panel with several levels of appliqués that incirporate the aesthetic codes of Hublot’s components.
The dragon’s silhouette extends onto the rubber strap, which features a rubber marquetry motif—a first for Hublot. Each of the dragon’s scales is coloured and nano-vulcanised to be integrated into the strap in a process that is carried out entirely by hand. The Spirit of Big Bang Titanium Dragon comes with a second, titanium-grey Velcro fabric strap and is powered by a HUB1710 automatic movement with a power reserve of 50 hours.
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