When I first really got into watches, one of the things which annoyed me the most was how much vitriol TAG Heuer attracted. Thankfully it seems to have died down a bit now, but a few years ago it was de rigueur to slag TAG Heuer at every opportunity and even now YouTubers looking for a few extra clicks often resort to reasoned, balanced videos with titles like 'TAG Heuer; just how CRAP are they?' and 'Let's talk about how much TAG Heuer SUCK ASS!!!'.
I'm paraphrasing of course and I talked about this at length in a previous post so I'll try not to bore you by repeating myself, but recently it seems like while the heat has gone off TAG Heuer a little bit, it's perhaps only because the watch community has found itself a new whipping boy and a target with a softer underbelly at that.
Oh wow, my trip to London in March seems such a long time ago now and I still haven't quite got round to writing up all the watches I tried on that day (well there was about 20!). I'm pretty sure this is the last of them, and it's only taken me six months... and no doubt in six months I'll be doing it all again (though I probably won't be bothering going back to the Seiko or Omega boutiques, for completely different reasons mind you).
So yes, it was the end of a very long day and Rich and I found ourselves in Harrods, and more specifically in the Hublot boutique. Our salesman's name was Mahmoud and he was most friendly and spent an inordinate amount of time talking to us (it was a quiet evening it must be said) and was more than happy to show us the watches, which was excellent, especially after having to deal with the guy in Selfridges earlier that day (see my review of the Breitling Exospace).
Hublot Classic Fusion Black Magic 510.CM.1170.CM
The first watch I tried on was the Hublot Classic Fusion Black Magic, which looked a lot more interesting in the cabinet than it did on the wrist and even then it didn't look that exciting to be honest. The main reason I picked this one was because it was similar to a watch my wife had pointed out on our last visit (a ladies model) as one she liked the look of. I have to say the increase in size to a man's watch didn't play in it's favour as the piece looks and feels overly large on the wrist, very flat and the dial very empty.
I don't think Hublot's strength is in 'subtlety', surely if you're a Hublot fan you probably want something a little 'louder'. It's like buying a Lamborghini and then asking for it in dove grey, it just doesn't make any sense. I think the other thing was that it was quite matt, whereas I'm sure the ladies version was a lot more polished, and again this made it look rather dull. This one is 45mm diameter, which to me is too big for a watch with no sub-dials and assuming it hasn't changed in the last six months the price is £10,400. Definitely not the Hublot for me I'm afraid.
Hublot Big Bang Black Magic 301.CI.1770.RX
The Big Bang Black Magic Chronograph does have subdials and is also 1mm smaller at 44mm, as such the proportions work much better in my opinion. The carbon dial looks great and this one manages to be a bit more 'in your face', without going totally overboard. I don't like the crown in silver, I think they should have black coated it (and the pushers for that matter) but it's not too bad since it complements the silver screws around the dial and on the end link for the strap.
This is not a small watch and it wears similarly on the wrist to the first model, albeit I much prefer the flexibility of the rubber strap. I would definitely choose this one over the Classic Fusion, but at £13,000 (March 2019) there's other Hublots that appeal to me more for less money.
Hublot Big Bang Unico Golf 416.YS.1120.VR
I don't play golf, but if I could afford to buy this crazy looking watch I might be inclined to take it up! This was hot off the presses when I tried it on and if the other two Hublots I tried on today were slightly understated then this one goes all the way over the top. The Hublot Big Bang Unico Golf is definitely one for the man who wants to be noticed with a 45mm diameter carbon case, yellow highlights and a very cool two tone rubber / white calf leather strap, not to mention a 72 hour power reserve and 100M of water resistance.
The 'golf' function works using the pushers you would normally associate with a chronograph. The top (yellow) pusher is pressed every time you make a shot, while the bottom pusher is depressed once you have finished a hole and moves the 'hole' indicator on to the next number. The counter at the 6 position keeps a running total of all your shots. If I remember correctly the pusher that looks like a golf tee at the 8 position resets the scores to zero and the hole counter back to 1.
It's a super-cool looking watch and I really loved it, but unfortunately at £26,000 (Mar 2019) it's a tad out of my league. Chrono 24 has eleven of these for sale, but even there the best price on offer is more than £18,000, which is still way too rich for me, especially as (I think I already mentioned) I don't even play golf!
Definitely one with 'fiddle factor' this one, and I'm sure it could be used for other things beside golf (though admittedly nothing springs to mind), but not really one for someone who wants an 'only' watch as this is pretty brash and bold and not exactly versatile. Still, watching that (rather hilarious) video made me remember just how much I enjoyed trying this on and just how cool it looks on the wrist.
After several times seeing Hublots in Watches of Switzerland and Selfridges I finally got round to trying one on, I really don't know why I hadn't done so before - just one of those things I guess. I'm getting a bit more relaxed about trying things on that I can't afford (ever since I tried on that £147,000 Roger Dubuis in Harrods last year!) and at £11,200 this one is certainly not something I'll be buying anytime soon.
I think it's kind of disingenuous to take my usual line, which is 'if I had £11,000 to spend I'd buy a £6k TAG Heuer and pocket the change. That's all very well and probably true, but that rather fails to address my actual thoughts on the watch at hand.
And, well... I've gotta admit, this Hublot is pretty cool. You certainly can't fail to spot it, when I looked in the full length mirror with it on it was shining like a beacon as the shop lights caught the polished surfaces. No this Hublot doesn't do subtle. But then if you want subtle, you wouldn't be buying Hublot now would you?
I love the design of this one, it's kind of 'middle-ground' Hublot, not too crazy and not too dull either. The carbon fibre dial looks fantastic and the rubber strap was very attractive and pretty comfortable into the bargain. I also liked the polished numerals on the dial and the 44mm case wore surprisingly well, it didn't really feel as big as all that. Actually, just to back track a little there, as cool as the strap is, it does kinda look like some aftermarket straps I've seen on Watch Gecko... for about £40. The buckle was nice though.
Watch snobs will argue that Hublots are overpriced and nothing special under the bonnet, which may well be true... but you can't deny the brand has presence. Some of their watches are pretty hideous admittedly, but what Jean Claude Biver has created is kind of a TAG Heuer for people with deeper pockets. I can't afford one but I can definitely see the appeal and if I had £11k to spend I can definitely think of worse ways to spend it.
The watch definitely feels well made and the attention to detail is satisfying, like the little rubber pads on the chrono pushers and the way the case is layered together, it all adds up to more than the sum of it's parts and while I wasn't perhaps blown away by it, I definitely wasn't disappointed. I'm actually surprised that in the picture above it look like the majority of the surfaces are brushed because it certainly seemed very reflective when I was wearing it!
Funnily enough, this was my first Hublot, but by the end of the day I had tried on another 3, more on those another time.
