Watch Paparazzi

Entrepreneur Ricardo Guadalupe spotted wearing Hublot

Ricardo Guadalupe, the chief executive who has steered Hublot through its most commercially successful decade, was recently photographed wearing what may be the most technically loaded piece currently in the brand's catalogue — the Big Bang Integrated Tourbillon ref. 455.YS.0170.YS, a 50-piece limited edition that represents the convergence of Hublot's material innovation and classical watchmaking ambition.

The case measures 43mm and is constructed from carbon fiber with a Texalium® upper layer — a woven aluminum-coated fiberglass composite that gives the watch its distinctive metallic textile appearance while keeping weight dramatically low. The architecture is genuinely integrated: bracelet and case flow as a single sculptural unit, a design language Hublot introduced to distinguish the Big Bang Integrated family from the standard lug-and-strap format. The dial is sapphire crystal, offering an unobstructed view directly into the movement architecture beneath.

At the heart of the ref. 455.YS.0170.YS beats an in-house tourbillon caliber offering 72 hours of power reserve — a respectable autonomy for a complication of this complexity. The tourbillon cage rotates on a single axis, regulating the effects of gravity on the escapement, and its placement within the open-worked dial composition is deliberate and theatrical. Hublot's movement finishing here targets function-first legibility rather than traditional Geneva polish, consistent with the brand's design philosophy.

For collectors, the 50-piece production ceiling makes this reference genuinely scarce. Hublot limited editions at this tier tend to move quickly through authorized channels, and the combination of a tourbillon complication with Texalium® composite casing occupies a niche that few competitors address directly. The Integrated case design, introduced as a platform in recent years, has already demonstrated strong secondary market retention.

At $135,000 USD retail, the Big Bang Integrated Tourbillon ref. 455.YS.0170.YS sits at the apex of Hublot's current pricing structure. Guadalupe wearing the piece publicly is both personal endorsement and brand statement — a CEO who clearly still believes in what his manufacture is building.