In 2017, with Ferrari design objectively at one of its all-time highs, Ferrari has finally conceived its first ever wristwatch. They have done so in partnership with – you guessed it right – Hublot, and the result of their collaboration comes in the unusual form of Hublot Big Bang fake watches with black rubber straps. They are the watches that, by definition, have tested the horological prowess of the designers and engineers of one of the world’s leading car manufacturers.
Conceived by the Ferrari Design Center in Maranello and built by Hublot, the excellent Hublot Big Bang replica watches (initially covered here) give a fresh twist to the seemingly ever-lasting cycle of the usually extremely stale “[watch_brand_name] asks for attention by partnering with [car_brand_name]” collaborations by letting the eggheads in Maranello have their go at making a watch.
What do $295 quartz beaters, Movado, Cabestan, Panerai, Girard-Perregaux, and Hublot all have in common? They all have legally made watches with the Ferrari logo on them. However, to be fair, Hublot has far and away made the most of its partnership with Ferrari (review of the Hublot Big Bang Ferrari here, for example) who, in all likelihood, must have enjoyed the idea of working with a partner actually interested in dedicating separate, well-developed, versatile collections to the prancing horse, as opposed to just name-dropping Ferrari.
If you’re a long-time watch enthusiast, you are at this point more than familiar with the versatility as well as strict limitations of watch design. But when I first heard about the reliable Hublot fake watches, I did wonder what the process was like for Ferrari in understanding the spatial, technical, functional, and technological limitations (and possibilities!) that lie in watchmaking.
Both Hublot and Ferrari are adamant about Hublot copy watches with Swiss mechanical movements having been primarily designed by Ferrari. And as such, under the leadership of Ferrari Head of Design Flavio Manzoni, the Hublot Techframe Ferrari 70 Years Tourbillon Chronograph’s unlikely looks were wrapped around Hublot’s (ex-BNB Concept) tourbillon monopusher chronograph “engine.” We’ll work our way from the outside towards the innards of the Hublot Techframe.