Hublot Big Bang MECA-10 Mens 45mm Manual Winding Watch

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Hublot Big Bang MECA-10 Mens 45mm Manual Winding Watch

Ref. 414.NI.1123.RX

The MECA-10 name is not decoration — it refers directly to the ten-day power reserve that defines what this movement was built to do. The HUB1201 achieves it through a rack-and-pinion display system borrowed from no established convention, and the architecture is left entirely visible through a skeletonised dial whose thick crossing bridges were drawn with Meccano construction sets in mind: deliberately engineered-looking, heavy with geometry. A secondary wheel at three o'clock turns red through the final 48 hours of reserve, which makes the warning legible at a glance without requiring a numerical scale. Titanium at this scale earns its place. The case is wide and nearly 16mm deep, yet the material keeps the weight low enough that it sits without strain, and the microblasted finish reads darker than polished titanium would — closer to graphite than to silver, which suits the industrial character of the dial. The quick-release system at the lugs is genuinely tool-free, operating on a press-and-slide principle, and the deployant buckle folds the excess rubber underneath rather than leaving it proud, so the wrist profile stays clean once the watch is fastened.

Reference: 414.NI.1123.RX
Brand: Hublot
Collection: Big Bang Meca-10
Case size: 45mm
Case thickness: 15.95mm
Case material: Titanium
Case shape: Round
Dial: Black
Crystal: Sapphire
Movement: Manual
Calibre: HUB1201
Functions: Small seconds, Power reserve indicator, Skeleton dial
Water resistance: 100m
Bracelet / strap: Rubber strap
Strap colour: Black
Clasp: Deployant clasp
Lume: Luminous
Condition: Ex-display
Retailer: Goldsmiths

Additional specifications

Lug-to-lug: 57.1mm

Learn more about Hublot

Carlo Crocco, who had worked in his family's Binda watch business, founded Hublot in 1980 with an idea that sounds trivial and was not: he paired a gold case with a natural rubber strap. Nobody had done it. The material cost almost nothing and the case cost a great deal, and the combination broke a rule the industry took seriously.

The name is French for porthole, describing the case shape with its exposed bezel screws.

The brand was moderately successful for two decades and then transformed under Jean-Claude Biver, who arrived as CEO in 2004 having already revived Blancpain. Biver launched the Big Bang in 2005 and articulated the art of fusion — combining materials that do not conventionally belong together: gold with ceramic, carbon fibre with rubber, titanium with tantalum.

The material development that followed was genuine. Hublot produced Magic Gold, an 18-carat gold alloy infused with ceramic and hard enough to resist scratching, and coloured ceramics previously thought impossible to sinter at high temperature, particularly a vivid red.

Hublot has been aggressive in sponsorship — FIFA World Cups, football leagues, Ferrari — which has made it divisive among traditionalists. It is also, commercially, one of the most successful watch launches of the modern era. LVMH acquired the company in 2008.

1980: Carlo Crocco pairs a gold case with a rubber strap.
2004: Jean-Claude Biver becomes CEO.
2005: The Big Bang launches the art of fusion.
2008: Acquired by LVMH.
2011: Magic Gold, a scratch-resistant gold alloy, is developed.

Also in 4 collections

This watch appears in Watches 44mm and Over (849), Pre-Owned, Ex-Display & Vintage Watches (344), Skeleton Watches (310) and Titanium Watches (173).