The collaboration between Hublot and Dr Samuel Ross, which began in 2020, led to his first watch design in 2022 – the limited-edition Big Bang Tourbillon Samuel Ross – featuring an entirely new timepiece, from case to crown, to dial, strap and bezel. For his second design, Samuel turns the watch case into a grey monochrome outfit featuring some subtle yet insightfully rethought details, and to be worn on of the three rubber straps: vivid green, black or white.
Artist and Designer Samuel Ross has defined his perspective through the arts; painting, sculpture, furniture, industrial design and fashion. Through the two companies he founded – A- Cold-Wall in 2015 and SR_A in 2019 – Samuel has pioneered a signature design language that has translated to numerous collaborations, including those with Beats, Nike, Timberland, Converse Dr Martens, Mackintosh, RideCake, Absolut, Acqua Di Parma and Hublot.
Samuel has developed a new millennial perspective on luxury goods, particularly through his latest and most refined brand SR_A, which was founded in the same year he was awarded the Hublot Design Prize. This polymathic creative force has won numerous other awards, and has been a finalist for both the LVMH Prize and the ANDAM Award. His designs have been worn by celebrities like Lewis Hamilton, Idris Elba, Daniel Kaluuya, Lebron James, Jay Z, Swizz Beats, Nick Jonas, Sophie Turner, BTS, and Central Cee.
As an active artist, Ross has been exhibiting in various museums around the world, including the Victoria & Albert Museum, National Museum of Scotland, Design Museum in London, Dallas Museum of Art, Denver Art Museum, and Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, as well as galleries with solo exhibitions at White Cube, Friedman Benda, Design Miami.
Applying Samuel Ross’s artistic language to Hublot watchmaking is exactly how he envisioned the sculpture that marked the start of his creative collaboration with Hublot in 2020. He encapsulated materials in aerodynamic, simple and striking shapes incorporating imprints of Nature’s sacred geometry to tell 40 years of Hublot history.
Building on the hexagonal pattern, Ross knows how to contrast hyper-technical with traditional elements to ensure compatibility with Hublot’s Art of Fusion vision. Ross applied this ethos to the Big Bang tourbillon by playing on transparency with holes in the structure, as well as referencing the origins of Fusion by mixing rubber with manufactured metal.
To assert the industrial look of the new Big Bang Tourbillon SR_A by Samuel Ross, Samuel has opted to attire the watch case components in shiny micro-blasted titanium, extending this to the clasp which also features a rough laser engraving of the Hublot logo. To enhance the overall grey monochrome look, the crown is over-moulded in gray rubber, while the tourbillon bridge now appears in a neutral shade enabling the watch to be easily paired with one of the three smooth full rubber straps in black, white or the pop vibes of vivid green.
“We are focused on crafting refined, minimal and expressive timepieces. SR_A, looks to expand, re-define and establish timeless icons of design, reflecting a spirit of innovation, optimism and craft. I firmly believe we need all three properties to usher in the next chapter of luxury,” says Dr Samuel Ross.
With the hexagonal honeycomb shape and its perfect six equal sides, Ross has chosen the dominant governing pattern in the natural world. Like every single object he has designed, the watch is conceived as a durable, ergonomic and incredibly lightweight object – in this case, made to be wrist-worn. Transposing this sacred geometry of Nature into the watch, Ross envisioned titanium plates to be polished, brushed, hammered and perforated in order to create a lean and imposing silhouette inducing a sense of motion.
The Big Bang Tourbillon SR_A by Samuel Ross is driven by the accuracy and technical design of the 282-component Manufacture HUB6035 calibre beating at 3 Hz during its 72-hour power reserve. Just like the first release, this new iteration is produced in a 50-piece limited edition.
“The Big Bang Tourbillon Samuel Ross, launched in 2022, has ticked all the boxes of a successful and genuine collaboration, yet one in which Ross had left a powerful imprint through his aesthetic, functional and purposeful take on our watch, remaining true to who we are while shedding light from a different angle. His new iteration represents the next steps of a never-ending story demonstrating how creativity and engineering must never be taken for granted in consistently pushing existing boundaries to enhance our own creations,” says Ricardo Guadalupe, Hublot CEO.
