Hublot’s Big Bang Tourbillon Automatic Yellow Neon SAXEM is one of those watches that leave you in awe, combining neon sapphire brilliance with high-complication tourbillon watchmaking.
What We Love
- The bold Yellow Neon SAXEM case completely transforms under different lighting.
- The skeletonised dial offers a beautifully balanced design that gives the watch real mechanical theatre.
- Few watches in watchmaking will command attention quite like this, especially in natural light.
What We Don’t
- The 44mm case size wears better than expected, but it is still on the larger side.
- Even sapphire lovers may find the Yellow Neon SAXEM a lot to handle.
- A black structured strap option would let the case and dial take centre stage even more, while simultaneously reducing the overall ‘distinctive’ presence of the watch.
Overall Rating: 8.6 / 10
- Value For Money: 8.5/10
- Design: 9.0/10
- Wearability: 8.0/10
- Build Quality: 9.0/10
Few timepieces in the world of watchmaking can grab attention like a bright yellow-coloured watch. Now imagine adding a transparent sapphire case to the mix, and suddenly, you have something that becomes almost impossible to ignore on the wrist. That is exactly what we get with the Hublot Big Bang Tourbillon Automatic Yellow Neon SAXEM. This is a watch that does not ask to be seen, but rather commands it the moment you see it.
In that regard, this, in my opinion, is the kind of timepiece that perfectly encapsulates what Hublot is all about. Since the beginning, the brand has built its identity around the “Art of Fusion”, bringing together unexpected combinations of materials to produce masterpieces that make you go “wow”. A fusion of bold design codes and contemporary watchmaking that few brands dare to attempt.
With this Hublot Big Bang Automatic Tourbillon, the brand takes that philosophy and amplifies it tenfold, creating one of the most expressive forms of its sapphire timepieces. Not only that, but it also brings high-watchmaking to the table, with a high-complication tourbillon movement being fused with one of the most striking cases in modern watchmaking.
The result is a watch that feels technical, playful, and futuristic all at once. This is not a watch that follows the traditional norms of watchmaking, and I’m perfectly on board with that. Fortunately, I had the chance to take this Hublot Big Bang Tourbillon Automatic Yellow Neon SAXEM for an in-depth review, to see if this watch truly is as bold in real life as it is on paper.
Initial Impressions
I have always been a fan of Hublot’s sapphire creations, and ever since visiting their manufacture in Geneva a couple of years ago, it has given me a much deeper understanding of the process and craftsmanship required in creating sapphire cases and bracelets. It is certainly no easy feat and is arguably one of the hardest materials to create and sculpt from, emphasising the technical complexity of such materials. But it is not just that; it is also the illustrious beauty that the material presents, especially when worn outside in natural lighting.
I have covered Hublot’s sapphire creations in detail before and previously had the privilege of reviewing one of the brand’s sapphire creations, the Hublot Square Big Bang Unico Sapphire. But this Big Bang Tourbillon Automatic Yellow Neon SAXEM is something else entirely. While a clear, transparent sapphire case is still beautiful to behold, coloured sapphire pieces are just impossible to ignore.
When I held this piece for the very first time, you really taken aback by just how beautiful the case is and how the Yellow Neon SAXEM colour radiates in person, changing hues from yellow to lime green depending on the lighting. I think it is safe to say that this is a timepiece like no other, and it is certainly not for everyone, as the bold look of this timepiece will make you stand out as no other watch can.
The Brightest Expression Of Hublot’s Sapphire Mastery
The 44mm x 14.4mm thick microblasted and polished Yellow Neon SAXEM sapphire case is certainly the central highlight of this timepiece, and even with its thoughtfully designed skeletonised dial, the full attention still immediately goes to the bright sapphire case. And this is simply not just because of the colour either. It is the way the entire case glows, reflects light, and almost transforms depending on the different lighting conditions around it.
Sapphire has always been a material that I have loved when it comes to Hublot’s ‘Art of Fusion’ timepieces. I have been fortunate enough to hold a few sapphire timepieces in the past, and what I can say is that the material carries a lot more technical complexity than what you might initially see or think. There are so many different personalities that come with a sapphire case compared to traditional metals or even ceramic materials.
With steel, gold, titanium, or ceramic, you generally understand the character of the watch almost immediately, but sapphire gives you something much more dynamic and expressive.
For example, with most case materials, the aesthetic of the case will not change greatly when transitioning from artificial lighting to natural outdoor lighting. However, this is most certainly not the case with sapphire materials. While artificial lighting still makes the case shine like crazy, it really does come to life when outdoors in natural lighting, especially under direct sunlight. The Yellow Neon SAXEM case almost feels charged by the light, with the colour becoming stronger, sharper and more electric the more the light hits it.
Then we have the transparency aspect of the sapphire case design. No other material is able to achieve this see-through design quite like sapphire, and sapphire cases are what Hublot does exceptionally well. While certain colours of sapphire can give off slightly less transparency, colours like this Yellow Neon SAXEM give the case an almost Lego-like structure, where you can see every line, every edge and every curve, even inside the case.
The contrasting details also play a big role in the overall design. The signature Hublot H-shaped screws on the bezel, along with the crown and other titanium elements, break up the full transparency of the case nicely. Against the bright neon-yellow SAXEM, these metallic touches give the watch some much-needed mechanical contrast.
Where The Tourbillon And Micro-Rotor Take The Stage
When you have a transparent sapphire case, it makes perfect sense for the dial to be as see-through as possible. And this is exactly the design language Hublot has gone with for the majority of its sapphire creations. The skeletonised dial offers a beautiful glimpse into the HUB6035 movement and its architecture, which in this case has been carefully thought out to be as aesthetically pleasing and easy to read as possible. Rather than hiding the movement behind a conventional dial, Hublot turns the entire front of the watch into part of the spectacle.
Hublot’s Big Bang Tourbillon models have always been eye-pleasing to me. One of the reasons for that is the placement of the different features on the dial. For example, we have the micro-rotor on the dial side at 12 o’clock, which beautifully balances out the tourbillon sitting directly opposite at 6 o’clock. These two large visual elements counterbalance each other perfectly, giving the dial a sense of symmetry even though there is so much going on mechanically.
The hour indices are executed in the signature Arabic numeral format, which gives the watch that familiar Big Bang identity. The numerals and hands also follow the same neon-yellow colour palette as the case and strap, tying the whole design together beautifully. On a watch this bold, the dial furniture could have easily disappeared into the movement, but Hublot has done well to keep the time display legible. And this is in part thanks to the yellow SuperLumi-Nova on the Indicices and hands helping to separate the reading of the time from the mechanical architecture happening underneath.
The architecture of the skeletonised dial is what makes the Big Bang Tourbillon so appealing as well. All the unnecessary components are stripped away to make room for the tourbillon, micro-rotor, constant seconds counter and gear train, showcasing these elements with maximum intent and minimal distraction. You are not just looking at a dial here, but a layered mechanical structure. It feels open, technical, and futuristic, but still arranged in a way that makes sense visually.
The Mechanical Heart Behind The Neon
Powering the Hublot Big Bang Tourbillon Automatic Yellow Neon SAXEM is the HUB6035 Manufacture Automatic Tourbillon movement. This tourbillon calibre features a 72-hour power reserve, which already makes it impressive considering the complication it houses and the fact that it uses a micro-rotor. The movement does, however, beat at a slower frequency of 3Hz, which is a more traditional tourbillon rhythm.
Technicality aside, this is a movement that has been designed to showcase every component, with the dial side featuring the calibre’s most important parts. Instead of using a conventional full-sized rotor on the back, which would partially cover the movement, Hublot has placed the micro-rotor on the front at 12 o’clock. This allows the watch to remain automatic while preserving the full visual drama of the skeletonised construction.
And this is honestly one of the design aspects I love about the skeletonised versions of the Big Bang. Being a fan of openworked dials, Hublot creates some great skeletonised timepieces that strip everything away down to the bare essentials, allowing the wearer to appreciate the inner workings of a mechanical timepiece truly.
The caseback of the movement shows just how simplified Hublot has made this high-complication calibre appear. We get a much better representation of the gear train and its different components, but in a wider sense, it is the dial side that is a lot busier than the caseback. This is the reverse of what we are normally used to seeing on the caseback of a movement. The finishing is left to a minimum, and that is understandable, as the talking points are the simplified design and the see-through nature of the movement.
What It Feels Like On The Wrist
This is hands down the most standout timepiece I have ever worn on my wrist. And I think it will take some doing to take that title away from this Hublot Big Bang Tourbillon Automatic Yellow Neon SAXEM. This is even bolder compared to full diamond watches, and I say that in the sense that this Yellow Neon SAXEM sapphire would stand out from some distance on the wrist, and I mean quite a distance. With that territory, however, comes a very specific type of wearability.
As I stated before, this is not a watch for the ordinary watch connoisseur. With its limited production of just 50 pieces, this is a timepiece made for those with bold personalities, those who dare to step outside the norm of fashion, and those who are not afraid to stand out and be the centre of attention. While normal clear sapphire designs already give you a dose of that reality, this Yellow Neon SAXEM colour dials it up ten levels higher. It is loud, playful, futuristic, and completely unapologetic.
But I must say, even if this watch isn’t for you, it would be hard not to appreciate the design behind this timepiece. Sapphire requires a specific level of craftsmanship, as the level of technical difficulty goes far beyond just simply making a bright yellow watch. When it comes to sapphire (as I’ve outlined in the article above) is that it requires special tools and specific methodology to not only get the material correct without impurities, but also the cut correct to the exact shape of the case.
Getting the yellow neon SAXEM colour is a difficulty on its own, as it’s not easy to create watches with coloured sapphire, hence why we rarely see brands that are well-versed in sapphire creations release different colourways. All except Hublot. And this is where credit must be given, because even though sapphire timepieces aren’t for everyone, the brand has continued to push boundaries and master the “Art of Fusion” to create timepieces like this, which feel ‘otherworldly’ on the wrist. This is one of those watches that makes much more sense once you see it in person and understand just how much light and depth the material creates.
On the wrist, the 44mm case certainly has presence, but this is also the entire point of this watch. It’s meant to be big and bold. It was never designed to be discreet or slide quietly under the cuff. The Big Bang case architecture already gives the watch a strong stance, and when that is combined with the transparent yellow case and matching rubber strap, the result is something that feels closer to wearable modern art than a traditional luxury watch.
The transparent yellow structured rubber strap also plays an important role in how the watch feels on the wrist. The rubber strap allows for a snug fit on the wrist, which helps immensely with wearability. With a 44mm case size and thickness of 14.4mm, the watch looks like it wears large on paper, and on my wrist size of 16cm, I thought it would be too large initially. However, the transparent yellow structured lined rubber strap plays an important role in that it helps to wrap around the wrist tightly, allowing this seemingly bulky watch to fit quite nicely.
But I do have to say, you do not wear a watch like this to blend in. You wear it because you want something expressive, technical, playful, and completely different from almost anything else in the room. And this is exactly what the Hublot Big Bang Tourbillon Automatic Yellow Neon SAXEM delivers.
Final Thoughts
The Hublot Big Bang Tourbillon Automatic Yellow Neon SAXEM is certainly not a timepiece that tries to please everyone, and that is one of its greatest strengths, but also its greatest limitation. Measuring 44mm x 14.4mm thick, it is a watch that is definitely on the larger side, especially for those with smaller wrists. However, the transparent yellow structured rubber strap does help immensly with wearability, allowing the watch to sit comfortably even though the dimensions might suggest otherwise.
Then the other consideration is the bold colour itself. Even for those who already appreciate Hublot’s sapphire timepieces, the Yellow Neon SAXEM can be a bit too bold, even if you like timepieces that stand out. While I would fall into this category, I love the craftsmanship behind this watch and how unapologetically Hublot it is, a brand that is made to stand out from the norm.
It would also be nice to see some additional strap options offered with the watch. Personally, I think this piece would work incredibly well on a black structured rubber strap, allowing the dial, tourbillon and sapphire case construction to really take centre stage without having to share the limelight quite as much with the transparent yellow strap.
Overall, however, this is another impressive sapphire creation from Hublot, showcasing just how well the brand has mastered the “Art of Fusion.” It is rare, technically fascinating, visually unforgettable, and completely unapologetic in its execution. For collectors who want to add something bold, distinctive, and genuinely different to their collection, the Hublot Big Bang Tourbillon Automatic Yellow Neon SAXEM delivers exactly that.
Hublot Big Bang Tourbillon Automatic Yellow Neon SAXEM
Reference & Specifications
| Feature | Specification |
|---|---|
| Reference | 429.JY.0120.RT |
| Dimensions | 44mm case diameter x 53mm lug-to-lug (approx.) x 14.4mm thickness. |
| Case | Polished and microblasted Yellow Neon Saxem case and bezel. |
| Dial | Skeletonised dial showcasing the HUB6035 movement, with the micro-rotor and tourbillon all visible from the dial side. |
| Crystal | Sapphire with anti-reflective treatment. |
| Caseback | Open, sapphire with anti-reflective treatment. |
| Movement | Automatic HUB6035 Manufacture tourbillon movement |
| Power Reserve | 72 |
| Beat Rate | 3Hz / 21,600VpH |
| Water Resistance | 30m / 3bar |
| Strap/Bracelet | Transparent yellow structured lined rubber strap with titanium deployant buckle clasp. |