BASELWORLD 2017: SPIRIT OF BIG BANG MOONPHASE

BASELWORLD 2017: SPIRIT OF BIG BANG MOONPHASE

Hublot's love of colour infuses the Spirit of Big Bang Moonphase with four new models in shades of blue, purple, orange and pink. Matching strap, quartz dial, sand-blasted moon phase disc, hands, indices and stone-set bezel all set the tone of this vivid monochrome collection.

Are you hoping for light and colour this summer? Hublot has brought the two together, taking the brilliant intensity of the moon and infusing it with the season's on-trend colours - indigo blue for denim lovers, bold purple for an ultraviolet look, vibrant orange for an upbeat take on time and bubblegum pink for a rose-tinted outlook.

Inside the iconic 42 mm tonneau case, beneath its sapphire crystal, the openworked architecture of the HUB1770 hand-wound skeleton movement is enhanced by a quartz dial made from silicon dioxide (SiO2) and aluminium oxide (AI2O3) melted at high temperature. The quartz is coloured by the addition of a mixture of "rare earth elements". With a hardness of 7 on the Mohs scale, the dial requires specific cutting technology and expert mastery of the materials to create a uniform whole.

The monochrome setting extends to the minutest details, with the semi-transparent sand-blasted disc revealing two alternating moons, also in matching shades. A play of contrasts and colours that focuses the eye on the arresting complication at 6 o'clock. A lunar cycle is reproduced in a large round window that completes one revolution every two lunar months.

This two-hand model features a small second at 9 o'clock and a large date displayed on a double analogue disc between 12 o'clock and 3 o'clock. Accentuating the piece's impression of depth and geometry, the Spirit of Big Bang Moonphase alternates polished, satin-finished titanium or King Gold with coloured flat surfaces. Its bezel is set with 48 blue, orange or pink sapphires, or amethysts. The strap, in alligator stitched onto natural black rubber, perfectly matches the four colours of the watch. Water-resistant to 100 metres, the Spirit of Big Bang Moonphase has a power reserve of 50 hours.

A truly indulgent horological mechanism and complication.