My experience of the Lite Hublot BB

[Pix]

Hi Folks,

I have been wearing this rep for about one week now, and thought it is time to share some pics and feelings about this brand new version of the best-seller? Hublot Big Bang.

Let's start with some quick shots.

I have loved the HBB design the second I saw it. Hate it or like it, it's definitely a special watch. From the beginning, the pricing was over what we were all used to, and when the ceramic bezel version appeared, we quickly reached unbelievable heights. The latest price increase of 200 USD in average made me definitely loose any hope to once own this beauty. Some lucky (wealthy) members bought it and regularly maintained my envy for getting the Big Bang by posting gorgeous pictures. But I resisted : both the objectively high price and the feeling that we were shot like pigeons prevented me to buy it. I know and I'm sure that those who got what we now call "the expensive version" can't regret their choice, as the watch in itself can't be criticized for its close to perfect construction. Of course, one can always wonder if it's reasonable to pay more than 500 dollars for the Asian 7750. That's an endless discussion I presume.

And suddendly the wonder happened ! For a reason I don't really understand yet (feel free to post your theories), the socalled "lite" version came out. Mmm, lite I thought, probably some crappy copy. How wrong was my first thought : we all know that the official difference is nothing else than the AR coating missing and in the usage of the low-beat version of the Asian 7750. Although Silix sells what we understand to be a light version with a 28.8k movement... Can it be that the AR coating costs that much ..?

Whatever the reason is, everyone can "touch the Graal" for about 250 dollars. And that's just, err... KEWL

1. The dealer

This time, as for most of my latest purchases, I went through my favorite dealer on iOffer, who hunted and checked the watch for me. I got pics of it before shipment, which I find to be a damn real service and the proof that it was not dropshipped. Hope to see more dealers like Mark ! It seems that the only obligation for a dealer is to buy several pieces at one time for this model.

I chose the "ceramic like" one (actually PVD coated SS), and got a "friendly" discount of 20 dollars compared to PC or TT's prices. I know Silix is cheaper now, but that was not the case when I ordered my watch. I hope a RG version will appear soon.

Sent by EMS for 19 dollars (yes, 19 dollars, then think about what we're asked for when we have to pay 35 dollars for the very same service...) And one week later it was here, on my wrist.

2. So, how is it has a watch ?

Definitely a chunky watch, and heavy despite its rubber strap. 150 gr of an incredible mix of carbon (dial), polished and brushed steel, rubber and sapphire. You have to see it and touch it to feel what the Hublot Bif Bang really is. It has immediately replaced the Breitling Asian SFSO in my heart and is now definitely my favorite watch and rep. It's huge on my tiny wrist, but that's the way it must be ! At least for this kind of watch.

You can look at it from any angle, it's difficult to find assembling or texture/matter faults. Actually I did not find any. I like the rubber (rather PVC ??) strap, which is half stiff, and that's what I expected. I hate soft (silicone like) straps, as they feel cheap (in my opinion) and most often are some dust-traps !

The only defect, which is known and recognized is the clasp digging into the wrist's flesh after a while and will disturb/hurt some of us. Personally I wear it very tight, which prevents any movement of the clasp on my skin, and I have no problem with it. Have a look at the numerous reviews of the BB, there are several more or less tricky solutions to avoid the problem. I doubt it can be solved from the factory side.

The crystal and caseback are sapphire, as advertized (same old "water drop test" trick).

This is my first 7750 ever : over the past week, it has kept good time (no need for any regulation). The stopwatch is a bit hard to start, I suppose that's one "feature" of the Asian 7750. Well, only time will tell how (un)reliable it is. I know most of the candidate buyers worry about the "old" movement being used. That's part of the game. But I still have hope that this is a new version (upgraded ? improved ?) of the former "beta" 7750. I also understood that the swap with a genuine 7750 in case of failure would be easier... A watchsmith's opinion is more than welcome.

So, nothing negative to say ? On the principle, I will say that the known date bugs of the 7750 disturb me (don't ever set the date between 9.00 and 3.00 !), and that I do not particularly like the bold date font. Actually it's not that horrible at a normal distance. But I'm thinking of swapping it when I have an occasion.

Besides, although I'm not an AR fanatic, I agree that having it AR'ed would emphasize the great carbon look of the dial. That's the only reason for me. Otherwise, it's already readable without problem. And I must say that the pending AR run here on RWG for 55 bucks is more that tempting. I have to have this crystal popped up by a watchsmith buddy, and finally I'll have the Graal for 300 dollars +/- Not bad

3. And how it it as a rep ?

I'll do it short : many reviews have proven that it's one of the best reps around, as far as the quality and complexity of replication is concerned. There are sometimes issues with the "HUBLOT" stickers on the rotor : mine is OK. In the worst case, I see no major problem in removing them. Also, I'm not sure what's the real colour of AR.

On my "ceramic" version, the ceramic slice has been replaced by a PVD coated SS bezel : look at the result. I find it excellent ! Of course, that's a big tell for the HBB connaisseurs, as the side of the bezel is not supposed to be smooth. At least on this version. I have to accept it, but I am sure that noone will ever notice that in my neighbourhood

Conclusion : easy, I love it !

[jun]

Great post, beautifull watch. I also shared few pics of my 2 HBB recently.

Same expirience here, they became my favorite watches once i received them.

[Raijor]

You have written a great review - congratulation on your new acquisition - enjoy it. - Cheers

[Rxus]

Very nice watch, enjoy it! and great honest simple review.

Have it AR coated for the haters and youll be set.

[Pix]

To make this small review complete, here are the wristshots.

[gargoil]

HI Pix, great review, what size are your wrists? I have skinny wrists too and really want an HBB lite the same as yours, do you have any other picswearing PAMs, UPO etc?

Thanks

Will

[TeeJay]

Awesome watch and review Always good to see 'alternative sources' which have happy endings Congratulations

[Pix]

Thx both :

@Gargoil : my wrist is 17cm, about 6.7 inches.

I've learnt two things here, and also from my personal experience :

- a chunky sporty watch is never shocking. I limit myself to 42mm for dressy watches and 45 for sporty ones.

- the dial size is more important than the actual watch diameter.

Here are some other wristshots taken from past reviews. I chose watches which are more known, to give you a better idea.

[Pix]

I thought it might be interesting to confirm that this movement does not wind the same direction as the other Asian movements I have. It stopped twice on the watchwinder until I understood I have to set it clockwise instead of anti-clockwise.

Otherwise, the rotor is very reactive : a small shake and it spins several turns. Sounds good so far.

[yt74]

Fantastic write up, thanks for taking the time!

[kdirty]

Very nice write up! I guess i'll take the plunge and order one for myself.

[ajoesmith]

I thought it might be interesting to confirm that this movement does not wind the same direction as the other Asian movements I have. It stopped twice on the watchwinder until I understood I have to set it clockwise instead of anti-clockwise.

Otherwise, the rotor is very reactive : a small shake and it spins several turns. Sounds good so far.

Im not sure i understand what you mean

Every single watch i have owned real or fake, and any movement i have owned has always wound in the clockwise direction.

Most if not all ETA's wind clockwise

Asian movements similar to ETA wind clockwise, so do Asian 7750's

You mean that all your other watches wind in the anticlockwise direction?

EDIT: sorry maybe i misunderstood, you mean rotor winding, not manual winding via the crown?

[gargoil]

Thanks for the pics Pix, I think I'll be taking the plunge, I have 6.9inch wrist so most of the watches youhav epictured so think I should be able to pull it off. Is the clasps ok on your wrist if you wear the watch semi-loose?

[MrC]

Great review, puts it in my wish list now

[hambone]

Great review Pix and congrats on your new HBB. It is an amazing watch.

[Pix]

Thx all

Ajoesmith : I meant the setting of the watchwinder must be clockwise. So I suppose that the 7750 I have winds anti-clockwise. Well... Not sure in fact. (Sorry, I'm zero @ geometrics and that kind of things...) What is sure is that this HBB does not wind with my other Asian 21J movements.

@Gargoil : I'm afraid you'll experience the clasp problem if you wear it semi-loose. But you can fix that by sticking a pad on it. I wear it tight.

Edit

Ajoesmith : yes, sorry, I meant the rotor winding.

[ta8088]

Nice reveiw. This one is on my list for 08.

[Pix]

BTW, just sent it to K2222 for AR coating...

He told me that this bold font looks genuiner than the usual one we see.

I was not aware of that.

I can't really see this on Hublot's website. If anyone has pics of the gen, I'd be interested. Also, having the "dummy" regulator on the old 7750 obviously make it closer to the gen than what I expected.

Suddendly thinking about a mod for the ceramic bezel and thinner printing on the rotor...

See here : http://www.rwg.cc/members/index.php?showto...mp;#entry391730

[slay]

i KNOW why there is a lite version!

because the HBB maker is a bloodsucking cartel bas**** and sold them at a very high price (which could not be justified with the watch itself, because it was nothing more than a cheap asian replica with cheap asian movement) other factories started repping the hbb. he started to worry that he could be out of buisiness in no time, so he released the hbb lite to compete with his competitors.

and what andrew and josh told us about the ceramic bezels was also a HUGE lie (they said they got them form the genuine factory which was closed down, lol what a piece of bull). they just said that to get rid of the last pieces at a HIGH price. same as globalreplica and what other names those scamsites have. in my eyes they are not worth a penny. period.

Edited January 25, 2008 by slay

[Pix]

Same old story. Was the price difference explained by only the AR coating (50 dollars) and the "genuine" bezel ?

Surely not.

But there were customers for this.

Not me

I'd however like to source the new "ceramic" like bezel which can be found on the newer reps : it looks more gen than mine.

Overall, for less than 300 dollars the socalled lite versions are good reps.

[Francisco]

I thought it might be interesting to confirm that this movement does not wind the same direction as the other Asian movements I have. It stopped twice on the watchwinder until I understood I have to set it clockwise instead of anti-clockwise.

Otherwise, the rotor is very reactive : a small shake and it spins several turns. Sounds good so far.

Yes. This is true for A7750 and it must be known before buying a watchwinder.

[rogerthat]

Looks great Pix.

I was one who bought the pricey Ceramic bezel version before the Lite days.

Don't regret it though it is still my favorite watch!

That said, the Lite is a great buy.

With all the versions and the lites now selling well,I find it hard to believe that they haven't yet repped a bracelet for the HBB.

Must be coming soon, there is a big market for it.

Also wanted to add, you mentioned swapping the movement in the HBB to Swiss, but The Zigmeister posted about this once.

It was nearly impossible, think he sucessfully did one but took many extra parts (3 movement's worth I think) and I am pretty sure he is not swapping movements on this watch anymore.

Cheers,

M

[Pix]

Actually I don't know HBB owners dissapointed. Nor I don't know first time buyers disappointed. Those who spent a lot in the expensive versions surely felt it was worth. And that's the main thing... What fixes the value of a thing is what you are ready to spend in it without having the feeling you are forced to. I have always loved the Big Bang, but was not ready to pay that much. That's why the lite version was the best thing that happened to me IMO.

I agree on the bracelet version, although I'm very happy with the strap.

For the movement, I read in the past that the old 7750 was easier to swap than the latest versions. As my lite one has the old version (which was said to be compatible as far as the hands are concerned), I thought it was easier to imagine the swap. But as I feel extremely satisfied (I mean it) with this "old" one, there's no reason to undertake any movement change for the moment.

[rogerthat]

Definitely true, 21K version of Asian 7750 is usually a straight swap with a Swiss 7750, and the newer 28K version of the Asian 7750 is not so straight due to different hand sizes, but I think the issue with this watch is the date at the 4:30 position?

Regular 7750 date placement is usually at the 3:00 position.

Not sure if that means extra gears or exactly what is involved.

As you mentioned though, no need to fix what ain't broke.

Cheers,

M

[promotersf]

The lite version is kinda intriguing...I have the SS Ceramic BB, but i like the looks of the Black Magic...thinking about getting the Black Magic Lite, Ceramic Bezel, and have Chieftang do a double AR.

just curious...does anyone know what is more accurate...the BB has a very impressive and strong double AR...chieftang has an amazing double AR which doesn't have the crazy Double AR tint at the right angles...which is more accurate?

if it's the strong factory, i'll just order another from angus but if it's not, i may try the lite with the ceramic and have chieftang do his magic...