The first Hublot Big Bang Unico Sapphire.
In the modern era, watchmaking has transcended from a practical tool into something that most people regard as a mechanical piece of art. And over the course of the last few decades or so, watch manufactures from all around the world have constantly been trying to showcase the beauty of the movement within the wristwatch. From sapphire casebacks to skeletonised movements, these design aspects have one sole purpose: and that is to reveal the inner workings of the wristwatch. The pinnacle of this philosophy came a couple of years ago when Manufactures finally managed to create entire cases out of Sapphire. If you can imagine, these sapphire watches have become the talking pieces for the brands that have the know-how to produce them. And this year, at Baselworld, the evolution of the sapphire case continues.
02: BULGARI
Okay, the Bulgari Octo Tourbillon Sapphire is not exactly a fully sapphire watch. Its crystal and caseback are sapphire and so is the middle of the case. The middle portion however, is sandwiched by titanium rings with black DLC treatment. But the cool bit about the sapphire mid-case is the green ITR2 and Superluminova cylinders that go all the way around it. This luminescent glow even extends to the bridges of the skeletonised movement.
