Hublot’s All Black language has always been more about attitude than easy legibility, but the Big Bang Soldier All Black gives that idea a sharper cultural edge.
Created with London-based Nigerian artist Soldier, whose full name is Leonard Iheagwam, the 50-piece chronograph folds themes of migration, diaspora, military imagery and self-expression into one of Hublot’s most recognisable modern cases.
At first glance it looks like another stealthy ceramic Big Bang, but the point of this watch is what only appears once you lean in.
At a glance
- Hublot has introduced the Big Bang Soldier All Black, a 50-piece limited edition created with artist Soldier.
- The 42mm black ceramic chronograph uses silhouetted toy soldiers across the bezel, dial and small seconds hand.
- It is priced at £22,900 and comes with three strap options plus a bespoke display case.
A black ceramic Big Bang with a hidden graphic language
The watch follows Hublot’s established All Black formula, with a 42mm case in microblasted and polished ceramic and black titanium hardware for the chronograph pushers and crown.
Its monochrome treatment makes the artistic layer deliberately subdued rather than decorative in the conventional sense.
Under the right light, the bezel and dial reveal an X-shaped bandolier formed from silhouetted toy soldiers, recalling the small plastic military figures familiar from childhood play.
The small seconds hand continues the idea, taking the shape of a toy soldier whose gun points toward the scale to indicate the running seconds.
It’s a detail that could sound playful in isolation, but the watch is built around a more uncomfortable tension.
Soldier’s motif carries more than one meaning
Soldier’s work often engages with military imagery, camouflage and questions of identity, shaped in part by his Nigerian background and Lagos upbringing.
In Nigeria, civilians are not permitted to wear military camouflage, and Soldier has used camouflage and martial symbols in his art as part of a wider statement about self-expression.
The toy soldier element adds a second reading, turning the casual childhood object into a comment on how war and violence can be miniaturised, normalised and made disposable.
On the watch, those ideas are not presented through bright illustration or obvious text, but through a pattern that behaves almost like camouflage itself.
That has consequences for practicality.
The black hands sit over a black base, while the uneven soldier silhouettes and semi-openworked dial make the display visually busy.
Reading the time can take a beat, especially because portions of the movement and date wheel are visible beneath the dial architecture.
For some collectors, that friction will be part of the appeal; for others, it will be the detail that makes the watch harder to live with.
Straps, colour accents and the HUB1280 movement
The watch is supplied with three straps, giving the otherwise monochrome piece its only strong colour accents.
The standard strap is black fabric with a Velcro fastening, while the other two are rubber straps with red or green uppers.
Those red and green tones connect to recurring colours in Soldier’s work and also appear on the front of the bespoke display case supplied with the watch.
Hublot’s quick-change system is used here, with a trapezoid-shaped button on the upper side of the integrated lugs that releases the strap when pressed.
Turn the watch over and the sapphire exhibition caseback reveals the HUB1280 automatic movement.
The movement runs at 4 Hz and has a 72-hour power reserve supplied by automatic winding.
In keeping with the rest of the design, the movement is presented in black, extending even to visible components such as the balance wheel.
Details & Specifications
| Brand | Hublot |
|---|---|
| Model | Big Bang Soldier All Black |
| Edition | Limited edition of 50 pieces |
| Case size | 42mm |
| Case material | Microblasted and polished ceramic |
| Hardware | Black titanium chronograph pushers and crown |
| Dial | Black semi-openworked dial with silhouetted toy soldier motif |
| Movement | HUB1280 automatic |
| Frequency | 4 Hz |
| Power reserve | 72 hours |
| Straps | Black fabric with Velcro fastening, plus rubber straps with red or green uppers |
| Price | £22,900 |
The Big Bang Soldier All Black won’t be for the collector who wants restraint, immediate legibility or a collaboration that politely stays in the background.
Its strength is that it treats the Big Bang as a canvas for a very specific visual and cultural language, turning Hublot’s black-on-black signature into something more pointed, more difficult and more memorable.
