Hublot takes inspiration from michelin starred chefs to create it's latest masterpiece..
Hublot’s Michelin-starred and gastronomic adventure began in 2017 with Andreas Caminada. Seven great Michelin-starred chefs have since joined the Hublot family. For the second time, Hublot brought them together, for a private dinner, where two of them were given carte blanche to create a dinner that is “first, unique and different”. Four Michelin-starred hands joined together for the first time to create a menu that fuses the excellence, the style and the signature of Anne-Sophie Pic & Yannick Alléno. For a chef, their knife is their ally at all times – there is no dish without a knife – and, among the different materials used to shape these knives, Damascus steel is the most iconic. The material’s unique pattern is now reflected in the Big Bang Unico Gourmet in a limited edition of 200 pieces.
This storied steel, historically known as Wootz and originating in the Damascus region in 300 BC, was known to forge the most resistant and cutting swords. Today, Damascus steel refers to a technique of hammering and folding steel to make it more resistant.
This steel is often used to forge the kitchen knives prized by Michelin-starred chefs. It is now used to make the Big Bang, in a limited edition of 200 pieces – the Big Bang Unico Gourmet. Also known as DamasteelÒ, it iss made by the Swedish company Damasteel, which has mastered the fashioning of this material since 1876. This unique steel has greater resistance and a unique weave of patterned steel on its surface. DamasteelÒ is not a traditional metal, it is a metal composite created from two types of steel. The first, 304L, is dark and made primarily of carbon; the other, 316L, is lighter – the two are forged, folded and folded again like a flaky puff pastry, then pressed.
A matrix rendering that sees the two materials welded into each other, producing a patterned weave that is unique every time. These moiré patterns, like a fingerprint, are never identical. To adapt perfectly to the watch’s dimensions, Hublot chose a unique design, a pattern that fuses age-old savoir faire with the innovation developed by DamasteelÒ. Surface corrosion of the composite allows the stratification of the two steels to appear, revealing the pattern through a contrast of the materials. In addition to its highly recognisable aesthetics, Damascus steel is also renowned for being more durable than traditional steel.
The spirit of gastronomy extends to the bracelet which itself is cut from the fabric of cooking aprons. The Velcro fastener makes the watch useful and practical, and not just in the kitchen.
