Following on from the success of limited editions released in 2021 and 2023, Hublot is once again partnering with SORAI (‘Save Our Rhinos Africa and India’) to unveil an exclusive run of watches which celebrate and promote the cause of rhino conservation.
Founded by former professional cricketer Kevin Pietersen in 2018, SORAI’s mission is to unify communities, businesses, and individual actors in a shared mission to protect African and Indian rhinos.
A number of programmes supported by SORAI have been instrumental in replenishing the population of these keystone species: including the black, Javan, and Sumatran variants (classified by the WWF as “critically endangered”).
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Through its ongoing partnership with Hublot, SORAI has access to the resources needed to combat rhino poachers (one of the main historical causes behind the species’ endangerment) and supports a range of anti-poaching and animal care organisations.
Unsurprisingly, products like this new SORAI co-branded ‘Spirit of Big Bang’ are crucial to Hublot’s fundraising activities. As with the three previous collaborations in the Hublot x SOARAI universe, a portion of proceeds from each piece’s sale will go towards combating rhino poachers.
Better still, the Spirit of Big Bang ‘Sorai’ is the best looking design yet to emerge from both brands’ partnership.
This new limited edition boasts the same micro-blasted ceramic that Hublot first developed for the Big Bang Unico ‘SORAI’ in 2023: coloured ‘warm grey,’ and emulating the distinctive mottled texture of African rhino skin.
Made in a 42mm tonneau case shape, our bet is that this release is also going to flatter a much greater range of wrists than the burly 44mm Unico format. In addition, Hublot’s designers clearly conceived it with the habitual working environs of SORAI conservationists in mind: a ballistic fabric strap and rubber camo number are both included.
These details all provide the perfect backdrop for the calibre HUB6020 — the complex, hyper-visible heart of this limited edition.
When the movement first made its debut in 2019, engineered specifically for Hublot’s signature barrel-shaped case, it was a sign that the brand had well and truly arrived, as one of the industry’s formidable technical watchmakers.
Half a decade on, this movement is still a striking and sophisticated thing to behold. A barrage of black-polished bridgework cradles the skeleton tourbillon (at Ssix o’clock) and the power reserve and time are displayed asymmetrically.
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Clever, space-saving architecture means that the watch also has a fittingly rhinoceros-sized mainspring: giving it five whole days of power once fully wound.
All that oomph doesn’t come cheap, but rest assured: even a fraction of the asking price going to SORAI’s fight against rhino poaching is worth the cost of admission.
