This year a piece unique from Hublot won the Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Geneve prize for jewelery watch of the year, 2009. The watch is as ostentatious as it is pretentious. I actually like the look of the watch a lot, and even though inside of me I would like to wear the timepiece, it is hard to swallow the blatant excess built into the timepiece. The inflated price point is even built into the name of the watch. For me, a name like "Million $ Black Caviar Bang" sounds about as classy as "One Thousand Dollar Bubbly Champagne." Don't forget, "more bubbly, more buck!" Don't any of you go stealing my business ideas now...

Hublot made the million dollar big bang watch out of white gold and rare baguette cut black diamonds. almost 550 diamonds are all over the watch, with a total of 34.5 carats. Hublot took its time making the watch. Over 2000 hours went into it. The movement is a manually wound tourbillon. Functions include the time (tourbillon acts as the seconds indicator), and a power reserve indicator.

Why did it win best jewelry watch in Geneva? I am not sure. Perhaps because it is rare, took a lot of time to make, is for men, and is actually quite attractive. Is nice jewelry is supposed to inspire envy, awe, and a bit of anger? If so, then the Hublot Million $ Caviar Bang was a good choice to win.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com

More of the same? Or less of more? I can't really decide because while I trust that there is something new here from Hublot, my senses tell me that this has basically been released before. Hublot hit a home run a few years ago with the Big Bang watch line. Since then, most of their new watches have been some variation on the Big Bang. A new model would be released that was simply done in a slightly different material or color. And to keep things fresh, Hublot attempted to give each of these new models some silly name (like the also new Hublot Tutti Frutti Hazelnut... yes, that is actually what they are calling it).

So in this instance, Hublot hasn't even tried to give the watch a clever name. They just call it the "Big Bang Gold," and it is in gold. Feels sort of uninspired... or has the inspiration ship long departed from Hublot's dock and I am only now noticing it? Now, I actually like the watch as it is, but as a new model, and given everything else that Hublot has released, I am scratching my head to figure out if I am missing anything to understand what is new. The watch is in 18k rose gold and 44.5mm wide. Of course other materials exist on the case such as the titanium screws, rubber, and the black material sandwiched by the gold. There is 100 meters of water resistance, and the movement is an automatic HUB4100 all nicely decorated with a tungsten carbide automatic rotor in black PVD.

Even the dial represents the now classic Big Bang looks. So in that regard I will just consider this model a retro model looking back at the original Hublot Big Bang, that debuts only several years ago, but feels classic now!

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

More with the gray watch trend? Where do these fads come from? Just recently I wrote about the Vacheron Constantin Overseas Gray that shared this theme, and no doubt there will be more. This watch is surely for the ladies, but will likely be available for men as well. I say that this is a ladies watch because the case is 41mm wide, which is typically the size Hublot reserves for its women's Big Bang watches - the male versions are at least 44mm wide, but now that I think about it -men who like the style could also enjoy it. Aside from the trendy gray colored dial, this watch has two interesting things to notice. First, is the metal bracelet, that I've never seen on the Hublot Big Bang watch line (though it is possible it was around before). It makes total sense for the watch to be coupled with a metal bracelet, and here is the first glimpse I've seen of one. Second is the fact that the watch is steel. Why is this important? Because steel is a lower cost metal and indicates Hublot realizes it cannot continue to fuel demand for its ultra decadent Big Bang watches constructed of exotic and/or precious materials. Though the screws are still titanium.

The case itself is a mixture of polished and satin surfaces, with a bezel inset with baguette cut diamonds. While diamond studded steel watches are not unheard of, does it really make that much sense? The dial is a fancy material called tantalum, which in this case is done with a soft satin gray look. The movement is the HUB1145 automatic mechanical chronograph movement, visible through the sapphire caseback window. While the watch does offer a rubber strap, go for the metal bracelet. Hublot hasn't been able to shed the whole "sandwiched" thing, so the bracelet is steel with "composite resin" in the middle. Not sure what that means, but it sounds like a fancy plastic or glue if you ask me.

Ariel Adams publishes the popular watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.