Luxury behemoth LVMH has a new watchmaker in their growing watches and jewelry unit. They have announced that they will acquire Switzerland's Hublot watch group from the founder Carlo Crocco and a firm controlled by Jean-Claude Biver, who's managed the brand since 2004.

LVMH already owns several successful watch brands including TAG Heuer, Zenith, Dior Montres and Louis Vuitton watches. LVMH has announced plans to increase the brand's profile in Asia and Japan and expand retail distribution. Currently the watches are sold in 300 stores worldwide. Hopefully they won't dilute the brand too much, part of Hublot's power is that that they do a particular type of big beefy watch, the Big Bang, so well. The Hublot fans on the Time Zone Hublot forum definitely are excited about this move for Hublot.

Remember when the Hublot Big Bang watch seemed really, really big. These days the watch is about the same size as everyone else's but that doesn't make it any less interesting. The latest special edition of the Hublot Big Bang watch derives its punch from a sleek cloak of black enlivened only by a slash of a red signature and a colorful split second hand. The Hublot Big Bang Aryton Senna All Black Rattrapante sports the Ayrton Senna Institute, a non-profit institute founded by Viviane Senna, the sister of the deceased Brazilian racing driver, the Ayrton Senna. The watch is a Chronograph Split-Second with Power Reserve indicator in black with Ayrton Senna's signature in red and the Brazilian flag in green and yellow on the Split-Second hand which can be used to record an intermediate time by means of the two chronograph seconds hands. The push-piece on the watch is red. The watch is the first Hublot to go on sale in Brazil. The 44.5 mm case is done in polished black ceramic resin details. The movement is the Hublot HUB44 RT mechanical chronograph Fly-back with automatic winding. It has a black rubber strap with the Ayrton Senna signature in yellow on a green stripe on the inside. There are 500 numbered pieces and it sells for $25,000.

It was inevitable, after all, Hublot has been steadily adding diamonds and gemstones to their Big Bang models for a while now. But the Million Dollar Bang outpaces them all. The watch includes a tourbillon and uses a "mystery" setting so that you don't see the settings, only the stones (493 of them to be precise). A traditional setting is used around the flying tourbillon. The Bunter SA workshop partnered with Hublot on the one-of-a-kind watch which took 2,000 hours to create. The case is 18K white gold and the watch uses a mechanical workshop-crafted movement. Don't get out your wallet for this piece it has already been sold. If you've got a Hublot craving they are introducing a few other new watches, the other are after the jump.

[via Luxury Launches and Time Zone]