Hublot has watches made from machined sapphire, even ones made from recycled ocean plastic. The Art of Fusion knows no bounds, and true to the brand’s commitment to innovative materials, their newest Big Bang Unico Nespresso Origin is made from the waste of Nescafe’s coffee pods and grounds.
No, it isn’t really made of coffee, well at least the case isn’t. After two years of research and development with Nescafe, Hublot discovered how they could make a watch with the most recycled materials possible. 28% of the 42mm aluminium case has been sourced from Nespresso coffee capsules before being given a bright green anodisation. It’s not a bad look, if not a little on the nose given the “green” nature of the piece.
Nespresso have been heavily involved in recycling technologies since 1991 when they developed a system to separate the aluminium from the coffee grounds in order to reuse both. So while this collaboration is a little out of the blue, it isn’t completely out of left field.
The two rubber straps actually do have coffee inside it. The straps have been provided by Nespresso partner, SingTex, with one strap having 5% of it made from coffee grounds while the remainder is 95% recycled polyester. The other includes 4.1% coffee grounds and 8.2% recycled white plastic. You can actually see the coffee grounds in the straps so it is at least a visible inclusion.
The rest of the watch is what you expect from a Big Bang Unico, love it or hate it. You’ve got a skeletonised dial, the HUB1280 Unico movement with a 72-hour power reserve, a case thickness of 14.5mm, 100m of water resistance, and a sapphire exhibition caseback. Though there is a Nespresso logo on the crown which is new.
In case you were going to write this watch off as another gimmick from Hublot, there’s actually one aspect that will stick around for future releases – the watch box. The Hublot Greenbox is made entirely of oak, even the carved hinges. That means all of the box’s materials are entirely traceable. The removable interior is also made from 98% recycled and reusable materials. This current edition features the Nespresso logo (made from coffee grounds), but future editions will not.
These are limited to 200 pieces available now on Hublot’s website for $33,600 AUD (CHF22,900).
