Chef chic: Hublot launches Big Bang Unico Gourmet watch with Michelin-starred ambassadors Anne-Sophie Pic, Yannick Alléno

By

Godfrey Deeny

Published
Oct 15, 2022

Hublot has launched its latest watch, the Big Bang Unico Gourmet, two of whose ambassadors, Michelin-starred chefs Anne-Sophie Pic and Yannick Alléno, feted the new arrival with a truly Lucullan meal Wednesday night. 

Made out of special Damascus steel, the metal of choice used by major chefs in their knives, the Big Bang Unico Gourmet was released at midnight in a limited edition of 200. The gastronomic spirit extends to the bracelet, cut from the fabric of cooking aprons.
 
Only 120 guests sat down to the launch dinner jointly prepared by Alléno and Pic, two of France’s most celebrated chefs, inside the Atelier des Lumières, a display space in the 11th arrondissement noted for advanced sound and light shows.

Priced at €23,800, the Big Bang Unico Gourmet is instantly recognizable by its wave pattern steel casing, similar to the blades seen on Japanese chef’s knives. Hublot first linked up with a Michelin-starred talent back in 2017 with Andreas Caminada. Today, there are seven Michelin masters within the Hublot family, including Paul Pairet and Eneko Atxa.

Under the management of CEO Ricardo Guadalupe, Hublot has operated a multi-prong strategy of working with football, fine food and fine artists, such as Takashi Murakami, whose top-of-the-line Sapphire Rainbow Hublot sells for over $100,000.
 
Hublot’s links to sport, especially football, run deep. The brand has a been the official timekeeper of the World Cup since 2010, and the Swiss luxury watch marque will be again in Qatar for the 2022 World Cup. Besides that, it’s the official timekeeper of Juventus, Chelsea and Ajax, while its leading soccer brand ambassador is Kilian Mbappé, the hottest name in world football.
 
But this week, the focus was on cuisine. In the kitchen, the knives of Alléno and Pic combined in a spectacular fashion. From Pic, a dish named 'la betterave plurielle', or plural beet – a single ravioli made of beet, packed with madras curry and sprinkled with crushed pine needles. Sounds strange but tasted delicious. From Alléno, Wagyu beef cut into the thinnest of leaves of Wagyu that melted in the mouth.

“Hublot is all about the art of fusion in watchmaking. The concept of blending innovation with tradition,” explained CEO Ricardo Guadalupe. The brand was the first to create a wristband in rubber, and ahead of its rivals in making watches in ceramic and carbon.

A division of LVMH, Hublot does not release its financial figures. Though with an estimated 60,000 watches produced annually, it is believed to achieve annual sales in excess of €150 million.
 
Though very much a prestige brand, Hublot remains agreeably innovative and even quirky in its tastes. It served a charming bio champagne made only of pinot noir grapes for its first course, and aromatic and earthy Beaune from Sarnin – Berrux with the Wagyu.
 
Plus, its live act of Aime Simone was nothing short of sensational. He may be a little-known singer with a Joan of Arc-worthy haircut and the word 'Reckless' tattooed on his left cheek, who has barely 8K followers on Instagram, but this guy can sing. His rendition of Harry Styles’ 'As It Was' had the whole room on its feet.