Watch Paparazzi

Artist Takashi Murakami spotted wearing Hublot

Takashi Murakami was recently spotted wearing one of Hublot's most technically and visually extreme creations: the Big Bang Unico Sapphire Rainbow, reference 411.JX.4803.RT.4099. The sighting is hardly surprising — Murakami's entire artistic identity is built on the collision of high craft, bold color, and popular iconography, and this watch embodies all three in horological form.

The Big Bang Unico Sapphire Rainbow ref. 411.JX.4803.RT.4099 is a 45mm case machined entirely from synthetic sapphire crystal — a material so hard it ranks 9 on the Mohs scale, second only to diamond, and notoriously difficult to cut and polish. Hublot first debuted the all-sapphire Big Bang in 2016, but the Rainbow variant added a new layer of complexity: 72 baguette-cut fancy sapphires in graduated colors — violet, blue, green, yellow, orange, red — are channel-set around the bezel and crown, demanding exceptional gem-setting precision on a curved, ultra-hard surface. The result is a fully transparent watch that reveals its movement from every angle while radiating chromatic spectacle.

Powering the piece is the HUB1242 UNICO calibre, Hublot's proprietary column-wheel flyback chronograph movement developed entirely in-house at their Nyon manufacture. It runs at 28,800 vph, offers a 72-hour power reserve, and is visible in its entirety through the sapphire case — bridges, column wheel, and all. The movement's architecture was specifically designed for visual impact as much as mechanical performance.

With production capped at 50 pieces globally, the Hublot Big Bang Unico Sapphire Rainbow sits at the intersection of haute horology and wearable sculpture — a positioning that maps directly onto Murakami's own practice. The artist, internationally recognized for his Superflat movement and collaborations with Louis Vuitton and Billie Eilish, has long collected objects that blur fine art and commercial culture. This watch occupies exactly that space.

At an official retail price of $84,000, the Big Bang Unico Sapphire Rainbow ref. 411.JX.4803.RT.4099 commands significant premiums on the secondary market given its 50-piece limitation. Grey market transactions have recorded prices well above retail, reflecting sustained collector demand for sapphire-case Hublots with gem settings — a niche that continues to appreciate among serious contemporary watch collectors.