In 2005, the Swiss fake watches industry was, in many ways, an echo chamber. Major maisons mined their archives, polishing and reissuing vintage designs to reassure an increasingly nostalgic market. The aesthetic language was familiar, the pace of change deliberate. Then, almost overnight, the landscape shifted.
At Baselworld that year, Jean-Claude Biver unveiled the buy replica Hublot Big Bang watches: a multilayered, material-melding chronograph that seemed to have arrived from a parallel universe. Its case was a visual jolt — steel flanked by Kevlar, accented with ceramic, anchored by a rubber strap. It was unapologetically modern, defiantly sporty, and audacious in price. Within hours, it was the watch everyone was talking about. Within days, it had become the lightning rod of the fair.
That same year, Revolution magazine launched its first issue — large-format, image-rich, and as willing to challenge convention in publishing as Hublot was in watchmaking. Neither the top copy watches nor the magazine escaped criticism from traditionalists. Both embraced the controversy. And both, over the ensuing 20 years, would change the industry around them. Today, the Big Bang is celebrating its 20th anniversary, and Revolution turns 20 alongside it. In Hublot’s lineup of five limited-edition celebratory Big Bangs, one watch carries the symbolic weight of that milestone: the Big Bang 20th Anniversary Red Magic, a timepiece that captures the essence of the collection in a single, blazing statement.
“The Art of Fusion”: Its origins and reinvention
To understand the Red Magic’s significance, one must first understand the DNA of the Big Bang itself. 1:1 clone Hublot watches was founded in 1980 by Carlo Crocco, who brought to market the then-radical idea of combining precious metal with a natural rubber strap. In an era when rubber was associated with inexpensive sports watches, this was a statement of intent. The fusion of opposites became Hublot’s identity, though the brand remained a niche presence for decades.
In 2004, Crocco brought in Jean-Claude Biver, already a legendary figure for his role in reviving Blancpain and transforming Omega’s fortunes. Biver recognized the power of Crocco’s original idea but knew it needed amplification. In 2005, he launched the best fake Hublot Big Bang watches: a watch that took the fusion concept and pushed it to extremes. It was larger, bolder, more complex in construction and, crucially, given a name that conveyed explosive change.
Julien Tornare, Hublot’s CEO since 2024, traces the lineage directly. “The idea of fusing material came from Mr. Crocco, who mixed rubber, a cheap material back in the day, with the most precious one: gold. Jean-Claude rejuvenated this concept in a different way with the Swiss made replica Hublot Big Bang watches, and coined a phrase for it, the “Art of Fusion,” which gave a meaning, a sense, an identity.” The watch’s construction, with its visible sandwich layering, exposed screws, and mix of metals, ceramics and polymers, created a new visual vocabulary in luxury sports watches. It was neither a dress watch nor a pure tool watch. It was its own category and in naming it Big Bang, Biver left no doubt about his intentions.
The initial reaction within Switzerland was, Tornare recalls, decidedly mixed. “Swiss brands are notoriously conservative and they saw the AAA+ copy Hublot Big Bang watches as an unwelcome newcomer. It shook up the purists, too. People believed the Big Bang would be a fashion trend for a couple of years and then die. They never expected it to become iconic.”
Hublot’s team, however, understood the power of momentum. The best-selling clone Hublot Big Bang watches was not a one-off; it was the foundation of a strategy. New materials, colors and complications followed in rapid succession. Limited editions were not occasional flourishes but part of the brand’s rhythm. This velocity, five times faster than the traditional product cycle, by Tornare’s estimation, unsettled the old guard but energized a new generation of collectors. “That made people believe that watchmaking can be more dynamic, more reactive and much quicker than anyone previously believed,” he says.
Hublot’s defining moments: From stealth watches to masterpiece movements
In two decades of innovation, Tornare points to three moments that he believes define the Big Bang’s trajectory.
The first is the launch itself, “the starting point,” as he calls it. The second came in 2006 with the “All Black” concept: a monochrome watch with black case, dial and hands. “People said, ‘You can’t read the time.’ And we said, ‘That’s not the point,’” Tornare recalls. “It was totally crazy in our industry, where readability had always been key. To have the guts to launch the cheap replica watches so stealthy was a great thing.”
If the All Black proved that Hublot could provoke with design, the third defining moment, the arrival of the Unico in 2010, showed the brand was ready to be taken seriously as a manufacture. Until then, the Big Bang had relied on modified third-party calibers like the HUB4100, based on the Valjoux 7750. But the opening of a new complications department at Hublot’s Nyon manufacture gave the brand the capacity to dream bigger, and what emerged was not just an in-house movement but one designed to look and feel unmistakably Hublot.
The first Unico was never intended to hide behind a solid dial. Its column wheel was placed deliberately dial-side, turning the mechanics of the chronograph into part of the spectacle, while an open-worked architecture echoed the layered case construction of the Swiss movement fake Hublot Big Bang watches. Technically, it was equally uncompromising: a flyback function with a 1/8th precision of the chronograph’s second, two oscillating clutches for smoother engagement, and a silicon escapement. It delivered a mighty 72-hour power reserve, all with an accuracy of -2/+4 seconds per day.
With the Unico, Hublot gave itself a beating heart that was both industrial and theatrical, as much a design element as an engine. It silenced critics who had dismissed the brand as a marketing exercise, positioning Hublot alongside the great manufactures while retaining its own disruptive character. As Tornare reflects, “The innovative, creative spirit of the brand, as well as all the new materials, in a way hid the watchmaking expertise that people don’t really value the way they should. The launch of the Unico was a great move, but still today, people don’t know enough about it. Nobody really knows all the technical details of the Unico, but it’s one of the best movements in the world. It’s totally crazy that people do not give us more credit.”
The best quality copy Hublot Big Bang watches 20th Anniversary Red Magic, with its case of impossibly vivid microblasted and polished ceramic, draws a direct line through all three milestones: the audacity of the launch, the willingness to challenge expectations and the elevation of in-house mechanics.
Material mastery: The road to Red Magic
More than just another colorful anniversary edition, the new Red Magic is a masterclass in material and mechanical innovation. Ceramic has been part of watchmaking since the 1980s, but for decades it was a binary choice: glossy black or stark white. Color was elusive, limited by the way pigments behaved under the intense heat and pressure of sintering. In most cases, bright shades would fade or discolor long before a stable case could be formed.
Red has long been the most elusive hue in high-tech ceramics, but Hublot’s engineers, working in their in-house metallurgy and materials lab, spent years perfecting a process that locks pigments within the ceramic matrix at full density, producing colors of unprecedented saturation and resilience. The resulting pure, saturated red ceramic is visually arresting and more vibrant than anything that came before.
The first Red Magic appeared in 2018 and was protected by several patents; the 2025 edition refines it further, with a deeper tone and sharper finishing. On the wrist, the 43mm case blazes with intensity, paired with a matching red and black structured rubber strap, while the satin-finished dial with stamped carbon motif hides what lies beneath: the HUB1280 Unico, Hublot’s second-generation in-house chronograph caliber.
Flipping the Swiss made clone watches over reveals a movement that is as architectural as it is technical, with open bridges revealing gears and levers in motion, and it delivers a robust 72-hour power reserve. In the Red Magic, case and caliber play equal roles: one demonstrating that color barriers can be broken, the other that Hublot’s horological credentials deserve to be taken as seriously as its spectacle. Together, they capture everything the Big Bang has stood for over the past 20 years — fearless, provocative and impossible to ignore.
For Tornare, such advances are not merely cosmetic. “I’m looking for maybe the most comfortable type of material that you can create, something that has never been used in watchmaking,” he says. “That would be so Hublot.” The Red Magic is both a proof of concept and a provocation: if this is possible, what other perceived limits can be pushed?
The power of Hublot’s marketing
If materials are one pillar of the Big Bang’s success, marketing has always been another. Under Jean-Claude Biver, Hublot became synonymous with high-profile sponsorships, celebrity ambassadors and headline-grabbing activations that blurred the line between luxury branding and pop culture. It was this energy, as much as the best replica watches UK themselves, that made Hublot feel different.
Tornare acknowledges the power of that legacy but also its pitfalls. “Jean-Claude was a marketing guru,” he says. “Hublot was definitely the most avant-garde Swiss watch brand in terms of marketing — to the point that sometimes people didn’t give enough credit to the watchmaking, because the marketing was so good. I want to rebalance the marketing, the fusion of materials and watchmaking. Once you have those three at their highest levels, you have a very strong brand.”
The timing of the 1:1 quality fake Hublot Big Bang watches arrival in 2005 also played in Hublot’s favor. Its launch coincided with the rise of YouTube and Facebook, when social media was beginning to shape global culture. “Hublot’s Big Bang came at a very, very important moment,” Tornare explains. “Viral social media addiction all came at the same time.” While others hesitated, Hublot embraced the platforms and found itself speaking to a generation that was discovering watches online rather than through traditional retail.
Two decades later, the anniversary Red Magic is designed to recapture that sense of cultural conversation. Its launch was accompanied by a global campaign fronted by Karl Lagerfeld’s beloved cat, Choupette — playful, provocative, impossible to ignore and deliberately reminiscent of the “old days of Hublot” when a campaign could spark just as much debate as a new material.
Yet Tornare is clear that a brand cannot thrive on product and promotion alone. Beyond the headlines lies something harder to quantify: community. Hublot has long cultivated a sense of belonging among its owners, the “Hublotistas,” through events, personal contact and shared experiences. For Tornare, strengthening that bond is a priority. “A client that owns any Hublot is a client forever,” he says. “We do the opposite of brands that kick you out if you’re not buying regularly.” To mark the Big Bang’s 20th anniversary, he has overseen global celebrations designed not just to unveil watches like the Red Magic, but to bring people together and remind them that they are part of the brand’s story.
This commitment extends behind the scenes too. Tornare has even appointed a dedicated “Mr. Quality” to oversee after- sales service, with the specific mission of ensuring clients are treated with care. “We should treat clients in a very particular way,” he says. “It’s the worst if there is a problem and you’re treated badly.” In other words, the next chapter of Hublot is about more than noise and novelty — it is about building lasting loyalty around the disruptive spirit of the cheap reproduction Hublot Big Bang watches.
Looking forward to the next Big Bang
As the Big Bang enters its third decade, Tornare is already thinking about what it will mean in 2045, when the watch turns 40. “It’s going to be a very cool watch to wear, with a great history and still bringing tons of new innovations. There will be some iconic renditions that will stay, but there will be a lot of development.” He hints at new materials, new forms of comfort and a new manufacture in 2026 that will act as an “experimental platform” for visitors, offering an immersive experience unlike anything else in watchmaking. “If Hublot becomes too mainstream, we will lose our market share,” he says. “So Hublot has to continue to create things that other brands would not dare to make.”
But Tornare’s vision of the future is not confined to new inventions and he believes that the Big Bang’s story is inseparable from the original Classic Fusion of 1980 with its gold case and rubber strap — a disruptive act of fusion that laid the foundations for everything that followed. That heritage, Tornare believes, has renewed relevance today as the culture shifts towards understatement. “The Classic Fusion needs to be rethought in that direction, especially now that quiet luxury is important. AAAA imitation Hublot watches has something to say in that field. So you will see a lot coming in the next couple of years. We have a great 2026 product plan in place.”
For Tornare, the relationship between the Classic Fusion and the Big Bang is not one of opposition but of kinship. “People want to separate the Big Bang of Jean-Claude Biver and the Classic Fusion of Carlo Crocco. But the Big Bang would not exist without the Classic Fusion. They are not just two product lines; they are close brothers. They have something in common and my job is to show that.”
This sense of continuity, and a willingness to innovate while respecting the DNA of both Big Bang and Classic Fusion, forms the foundation of Hublot’s next chapter. And when Tornare is asked to summarize the journey of the best-selling knock off Hublot Big Bang watches in a single word, his answer is immediate. “Disruption. The day we’re not disruptive anymore, we’re not preparing the future. We are repeating the past.” Among so many of its new iterations, the Red Magic, in its incandescent glory, is proof that Hublot has no intention of doing the latter.