With a movement design inspired by Meccano, the children’s construction toy comprised of metal strips, the Hublot Big Bang MECA-10 is functionally simple but unusually constructed.

Originally introduced in titanium or black ceramic, the MECA-10 is now available in Magic Gold, the the gold alloy proprietary to Hublot that’s actually a composite of gold and ceramic. This gives the material the approximate colour of gold – though Magic Gold recognisably different from regular yellow gold – but a surface hardness of almost 1000 Vickers, some eight times that of ordinary 18k gold.

While the case material has changed, the 45mm diameter remains the same, as does the case design and construction. Typical of Hublot, the case is a metal sandwich – gold for the bezel, as well as top and bottom plate, with a black carbon fibre composite in between.

The MECA-10 is powered by the HUB1201, a hand-wound movement with a 10-day power reserve. Beyond the lengthy 240-hour autonomy, what makes the MECA-10 unusual is the rack-driven power reserve indicator that’s visible on the front.

A rack and pinion system – the rack is visible on a horizontal track from one to 11 o’clock on the dial – drives a series of gears that show the days of power reserve remaining on the sub-dial at six o’clock. A secondary indicator sits at four o’clock, with a red spot appearing in the indicator for the last 48 hours of power reserve.

Most of the movement is revealed, in fact, with both the front and back being skeletonised. On the front the balance wheel can be seen at eight o’clock, while on the rear the two large mainsprings are visible inside skeletonised barrels. The three prominent horizontal bridges on the back feature circular perforations, replicating the look of the metal strips of a Meccano set.

Price and availability 

The Big Bang MECA-10 Magic Gold (ref. 414.MX.1138.RX) is a limited edition of 200 pieces, available starting mid-January 2017 and priced at SFr32,900, or about US$32,100. The price is indicative and subject to change.