Hublot is a dark horse of a watch brand, going from zero sales during its 1980 Baselworld debut to serving up its icon, the Big Bang, only 25 years later.
A certified Old Boys’ industry, 25 years is less time than it took every Swiss legend to even enter the race. The Daytona debuted 42 years after Rolex’s founding, after all.
Hublot has hit several milestones already, famously ruffling feathers along the way. It was unprecedented to visually combine so many raw materials and controversial to use a rubber strap on a luxury watch.
Nothing defines the disruptive DNA of Hublot more than the Big Bang.
It has some of the most coveted design features of the past 20 years, at a sky-high price of admission. Fortunately, there are first-class alternatives that share important similarities with this timepiece.
We’ve rounded up seven of the best watches that look like Hublot.
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Hublot Big Bang Distinguishing Features
The Big Bang embodies Hublot’s “art of fusion” philosophy, built with unlike materials and unconventional design combinations.
The original case is a polished, satin-finished stainless steel, with a black ceramic bezel, and six titanium screws to match its titanium core. It’s an industrial 44mm Frankenstein.
A variety of contrasting materials makes the case famously sectional. The side of the case exposes where each material snaps and connects, for a skeletal under-the-car-hood aesthetic.
Rhodium-plated indices and Arabic stencil-style numbers pop on the Big Bang’s carbon style chronograph face. The hands are as geometrically shaped, just as the rest of the watch is.
It might be the titanium core, but the ergonomics on this watch are excellent. The Big Bang wears lightly and comfortably. I also love how the lugs seamlessly transition into the rubber bracelet.
Hublot spent three years and a cool million to develop a natural rubber that’s durable and comfortable. Chemically infused with steel, their specialty rubber doesn’t crack or bend. It’s also mixed with a rare vanilla making it odorless.
The Big Bang set the stage for watchmakers to use novel case materials on luxury timepieces. It may not have been popular with purists when it came out in 2005, but just like when Bob Dylan went electric at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, even the controversy is iconic.
The Big Bang even won the prize for best design at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève.
It’s 100m water resistant, and today has countless variants including 41mm, gold versions, titanium, quartz, and as a self-winding mechanical.
The Big Bang embodies Hublot’s “art of fusion” philosophy, built with unlike materials and unconventional design combinations. The original case is a polished, satin-finished stainless steel, with a black ceramic bezel, and six titanium screws to match its titanium core. It’s 100m water resistant, and today has countless variants including 41mm, gold versions, titanium, quartz, and as a self-winding mechanical.
7 Best Big Bang Alternatives
Closest Match: Invicta Anatomic Subaqua Chronograph
This watch represents everything the Big Bang represents. It’s big, it’s dramatic, it oversteps its boundaries just a little, but it’s a definite look-at-me-device. If what you love about the Big Bang is its daring spirit, the Invicta Anatomic Subaqua is for you.
The Invicta Anatomic Subaqua Chronograph is similar to the Big Bang not just in its chunky design language, but in how daring it is. It’s as if it’s trying to outdo the Big Bang in the number of unique surfaces and textures.
The case is a dark gray plastic, with a stainless steel caseback, a unidirectional gold plated steel bezel, and a beautifully textured rose gold-toned screw-down crown. At 50mm, it’s not wrong to call this guy the Bigger Bang.
The rubber strap actually has slightly more dimension than the Big Bang’s. It’s a thick black rubber with tire marks, with grey textured accents featuring a different tread of tire mark.
This Invicta is water resistant at 200m, features chronograph functions with 60 second, 30 minute, and 1/10th of a second subdials, and the face is protected by a flame-fusion crystal.
It’s audacious for an homage to try and outdo its source material, but it’s that approach that makes this closest to the Big Bang.
What I Like
What I Don’t Like
The Verdict
This watch represents everything the Big Bang represents. It’s big, it’s dramatic, it oversteps its boundaries just a little, but it’s a definite look-at-me-device. If what you love about the Big Bang is its daring spirit, the Invicta Anatomic Subaqua is for you.
Best Dressy Alternative: Bulova Marine Star
If what you like most about the Big Bang is how fancy it is, then this Bulova timepiece is for you. The Marine Star fully leans into the luxury side of Hublot’s designs at a much more affordable price.
Bulova continues to make delicate dress watches for men in an age when even sport watches are frequently being paired with tuxedos. With the Marine Star, It’s no surprise that Bulova’s take on the Big Bang smooths out some of its rough edges.
Every other hour marker is a Roman numeral, which doesn’t crowd the chronograph as much as it adds dimension. The luminous hands are nigh similar to the Big Bang’s, with a longer central ridge.
Aesthetically, this watch is just a tad more ceremonial than its inspiration. It’s the Big Bang after a proper shave.
The Marine Star is powered by Japanese quartz, and the face is protected by a mineral crystal. There’s a slanted, almost irreverent date window between the 4 and 5 hour markers.
What I Like
What I Don’t Like
The Verdict
If what you like most about the Big Bang is how fancy it is, then this Bulova timepiece is for you. The Marine Star fully leans into the luxury side of Hublot’s designs at a much more affordable price.
Best Automatic Alternative: Maserati Potenza Automatic
This timepiece is is for the guy who dresses to impress. There’s no denying that the Big Bang begs for attention. The Maserati Potenza Automatic has both the brand recognition and the craftsmanship that you get out of a Hublot.
We all know that Maserati’s core business is certainly not watch-making. Adding a car maker’s watch to this list is sacrilege to most purists, but we’ve already established that the Big Bang’s audience was never the purists to begin with.
Moreover, the Big Bang is a racing-inspired chronometer, so even the most traditional enthusiast can see why this watch deserves to be on this list.
It’s an automatic watch, so on top of being part of a family of well-crafted, luxury automobiles, the watch itself is a horological achievement.
Just like Maserati cars, automatic watches are valued for their aesthetic, and this watch has an excellent caseback window. Automatic watches also feature high-level craftsmanship and exact engineering that’s equal parts art and science.
The Potenza Automatic has a 42mm case, has a beautiful leather band, and is water resistant at 100m.
What I Like
What I Don’t Like
The Verdict
This timepiece is is for the guy who dresses to impress. There’s no denying that the Big Bang begs for attention. The Maserati Potenza Automatic has both the brand recognition and the craftsmanship that you get out of a Hublot.
Best Magic Gold Alternative: Invicta Sea Spider Gold
If you love the Magic Gold’s daring use of shiny yellow, then the Invicta Sea Spider hits all the right notes. It may not be constructed with the upscale material that the Big Bang is, but it’s plenty durable and eye-catching.
Just like the Big Bang Magic Gold, this variation of the Invicta Sea Spider liberally applies yellow gold throughout its design, even on the oversized decorative screws of its polyurethane strap.
Both watches are bold, with busy, frenetic dial faces and the same eye-catching color scheme. The Invicta is definitely louder though. Its case is a generous 50mm, and its brushed black dial offers a more dramatic contrast with the gold subdials than the Magic Gold’s gray skeleton dial does.
As a dive-style timepiece, the Sea Spider also features a unidirectional bezel and much larger push-pull crown.
What I Like
What I Don’t Like
The Verdict
If you love the Magic Gold’s daring use of shiny yellow, then the Invicta Sea Spider hits all the right notes. It may not be constructed with the upscale material that the Big Bang is, but it’s plenty durable and eye-catching.
Most Durable Alternative: Swiss Legend Trimix Diver Chronograph
If you love the Big Bang’s eclectic look, but don’t want the responsibility of taking care of a watch north of 10k, this watch is for you. It has many of the same style quirks, but a higher threshold for abuse.
The original Big Bang, while hardly a beater, boasts 100m water resistance, a stainless steel finish, and a sapphire crystal. That’s respectably durable.
For its price tag though, you’d be hard-pressed to keep it on while rock climbing or during that next mud run warrior race.
Enter the Swiss Legend Trimix Diver Chronograph. This watch is what the Big Bang would be after a CrossFit indoctrination.
It has about as much of the same Big Bang design components as the Invicta, but boasts several protective features, since it’s also a dive watch.
The Swiss Legend Trimix features a durable sapphire-coated mineral crystal, a stainless steel case, a screw-down protective cap, and is water resistant at 200m, which means it’s suitable for recreational scuba diving.
On top of that, the stainless steel bezel is ion-plated. This means electrical charges were used to bond a protective coat onto the bezel, making it five to eight times stronger.
What Makes it Similar?
They both have a 44mm case and a sturdy rubber strap.
They both feature the stencil-style military Arabic numbers on the face.
The Swiss Legend features screws around the bezel for a similarly industrial aesthetic.
What Makes it Different?
The Swiss Legend’s crown is much larger and almost a statement feature.
Each hour marker is an Arabic number.
Is it for You?
If you love the Big Bang’s eclectic look, but don’t want the responsibility of taking care of a watch north of 10k, this watch is for you. It has many of the same style quirks, but a higher threshold for abuse.
If you love the Big Bang’s eclectic look, but don’t want the responsibility of taking care of a watch north of 10k, this watch is for you. It has many of the same style quirks, but a higher threshold for abuse.
Best on a Budget: Fossil Nate Chronograph
If you love the Big Bang’s eclectic look, but don’t want the responsibility of taking care of a watch north of 10k, this watch is for you. It has many of the same style quirks, but a higher threshold for abuse.
Just like the Big Bang, the Fossil Nate Chronograph is a bold, oversized watch, that combines different textures and design inspirations.
It mainly takes inspiration from military aesthetics, but the subdials are evocative of race watches, and the different levels of matte gray have an industrial look about them.
The face is textured with small grains that make this affordable watch look more high-end. On top of that are elevated hour indices. 12, three, six, and nine are Arabic numbers in a wider, but equally bold font as the Big Bang’s.
The case is 50mm with a 24mm band, features a quartz movement, and a scratch-resistant mineral crystal lens.
What I Like
What I Don’t Like
The Verdict
If you love the Big Bang’s eclectic look, but don’t want the responsibility of taking care of a watch north of 10k, this watch is for you. It has many of the same style quirks, but a higher threshold for abuse.
Most Unique Alternative: Louis XVI Le Souverain l’acier l’or Rose Noir
This watch is for the guy who loves everything about the Big Bang, but doesn’t want the Big Bang itself. Maybe you think it’s too obvious, or maybe all your friends have one. It doesn’t hurt that the Louis XVI Le Souverain l’acier l’or Rose Noir is much more affordable.
I think the best homage watches are the most differentiated ones. I always say it’s like the difference between a unique band inspired by The Beatles that sing their own songs, versus a Beatles cover band.
The Louis XVI Le Souverain l’acier l’or Rose Noir is certainly in the same category as the Big Bang. It’s casual but a bit dramatic, it has an industrial flare, and it uses quirky material for a men’s watch (in this case, a lot of rose gold).
It’s been remixed into basically a new song, and can almost be a low-priced competitor.
This Louis XVI model is a limited edition timepiece with only 1,000 pieces in existence worldwide. It features a sapphire crystal, and is made with 316-L stainless steel, which is the same metal that Rolex uses for their core-team sport watches.
The case is 48mm and it’s water resistant up to 50m. The Day-Date-Month-Moon Phase sub dials are design highlights, in rose gold to match the rest of the watch, that make the face pop.
What I Like
What I Don’t Like
The Verdict
This watch is for the guy who loves everything about the Big Bang, but doesn’t want the Big Bang itself. Maybe you think it’s too obvious, or maybe all your friends have one. It doesn’t hurt that the Louis XVI Le Souverain l’acier l’or Rose Noir is much more affordable.
The Big Crunch
While Hublot’s Big Bang isn’t financially feasible for everyone, the features and designs that make it special can be.
If you want a straight lookalike, I recommend the Invicta.
This watch represents everything the Big Bang represents. It’s big, it’s dramatic, it oversteps its boundaries just a little, but it’s a definite look-at-me-device. If what you love about the Big Bang is its daring spirit, the Invicta Anatomic Subaqua is for you.
If you want a high-end brand name for a fraction of the price of the Big Bang, Maserati’s Potenza has plenty of luxury street cred.
The Bulova Marine Star adds a touch of class, and the Invicta Sea Spider adds a touch of Midas.
Regardless of why you want an alternative to the Big Bang, we trust you were able to find your choice here.
