Hublot are Saving Rhinos with the Spirit of Big Bang Tourbillon SORAI

The Hublot Spirit of Big Bang Tourbillon SORAI is perhaps a little different to the standard kind of watch you expect to see from Hublot. A favourite of footballers and hip-hoppers the world over, Hublot has a bit of a reputation as the kind of watchmaker used to flex your bank account. There’s definitely some credence to that for a couple of reasons, the least of which is their obvious prestige price tag.

Perhaps the more important reason however is Hublot’s innate boldness. You’ll likely spot that someone’s rocking a Classic Fusion before you do anything else, and that’s without getting to the more extreme, full sapphire pieces. They’re unmissable and unmistakable.

All of this is to say that Hublot has a reputation for being flash, often being derided by watch snobs. I’m going to say right now, unfairly derided. A lot of watchmaking goes into an Hublot watch, double for the UNICO movement-equipped models and say what you want about their designs, there’s nothing else like them – and in an industry that can err towards homogeneity, that’s nothing but a good thing.

Now though isn’t the time or place to get too deep into the weeds of the collectors’ discourse around Hublot – better writers than I have attempted that particular treatise. That’s because, while they’re synonymous with monied collectors, Hublot isn’t simply about what you strap to your wrist, but what good it can do. That’s because for the last few years, Hublot has been working with SORAI (Saving our Rhinos Africa and India). We all know Rhinos are endangered, that they’re closer to extinction than most other species on the planet. Here’s a sobering fact: two-thirds of rhinoceros species may disappear in our lifetime.

Founded in 2018 by cricket legend Kevin Pietersen, SORAI is one of the few charities actively doing something about it. Well, to call them a charity is a bit of a misnomer; they’re actually a sustainability enterprise, which is a small but vital difference in terminology. They don’t just raise money for their cause but work with communities in South Africa’s Kruger National Park to protect their rhinos from poachers.

That means an approach more faceted than a Big Bang. A sanctuary for orphaned rhinos, surveillance across 6,000ha of Kruger and new security technologies all help ensure that the animals are as protected as they can be – and SORAI has had an immense impact on halting the species’ decline. It’s hard to overstate just how vital their work is and has been to saving one of Africa’s most symbolic species.

Of course, part of all of that is relationships. SORAI needs money as much as they need eyeballs and partnering with an ultra-visible brand like Hublot is key to both. You can’t miss an Hublot on someone’s wrist; hopefully that means you won’t miss their message, either. That’s all but guaranteed when it comes to the SORAI limited editions.

There have been a number of SORAI editions in the past, invariably in the mould of the Big Bang Chronograph. It makes sense; it’s the flagship and a definitive collection since Hublot’s early days. The early SORAI editions didn’t break much from the party line, with versions in handsome stone-coloured and green ceramic, with a fitting rhino on the nine o’clock subdial as the only visual nod. Last year, however, they stepped it up, using the same UNICO base model but with a sunset rainbow of orange, red and purple and an ultra-cool, colourful camo strap. That last model showed that Hublot were venturing into new territory with their ongoing charity collaboration; this year’s takes it one step further.

Rather than the Big Bang, the 2024 SORAI edition is instead the Hublot Spirit of Big Bang Tourbillon SORAI. That means a sportier tonneau case in the vein of Richard Mille, in a mix of hardwearing grey ceramic and those signature black screws and bumpers. It’s sleek, cool and skeletonised for a monochromatic slice of mechanical futurism. If that’s the kind of style you’re into, it’s pretty damn cool. It’s also a tourbillon.

You know what a tourbillon is; you know it’s generally an expensive horological flourish. It’s also not too surprising to see it on an Hublot. It is a bit more surprising however to see it on a watch that will be actively raising money for SORAI. Given that the profits from the charity collection go to, well, charity, the new Hublot Spirit of Big Bang Tourbillon SORAI’s £95,000 price tag represents some serious funding.

More details at Hublot.

​Oracle Time 

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