Football manager Didier Deschamps spotted wearing a Hublot

On the night France prepared to contest another FIFA World Cup Final, head coach Didier Deschamps was photographed with the Hublot Big Bang Tourbillon Sapphire ref. 405.JX.0120.RT on his wrist — a watch that commands attention not through color or precious metal, but through engineering transparency. It is a fitting choice for a man who has built an entire career on structural precision.

The reference 405.JX.0120.RT belongs to Hublot's Big Bang Sapphire line, introduced as part of the brand's ongoing mission to push unconventional materials to their limits. The 45mm case, lugs, bezel, and caseback are all machined from solid synthetic sapphire — a material with a Mohs hardness of 9, second only to diamond. Milling and polishing sapphire to this level of complexity requires specialized equipment and extensive production time, with high rejection rates driving both cost and exclusivity. The production run is strictly capped at 99 pieces worldwide.

Inside beats Hublot's calibre HUB6010, a hand-wound tourbillon movement with a 120-hour power reserve. The skeletonized architecture of the movement, combined with the fully transparent sapphire case, creates an almost holographic effect on the wrist — every component of the flying tourbillon is visible from virtually every angle. It is one of the more visually coherent expressions of the form-follows-function ethos that Hublot has applied to its flagship complications.

Deschamps has long maintained a relationship with Hublot, a brand that has served as an official partner of FIFA and various national football federations. His choice of this particular reference, however, goes well beyond contractual optics. The Big Bang Tourbillon Sapphire sits at the apex of Hublot's technical catalog, and wearing it to a World Cup Final carries a considered symbolic weight — transparency, resilience, and precision under pressure.

On the market, the Hublot Big Bang Tourbillon Sapphire ref. 405.JX.0120.RT carries an official list price of approximately $150,000. Grey market availability is limited given the 99-piece production ceiling, and examples that do surface tend to trade close to or at retail. Collectors regard the sapphire Big Bang as a credible technical piece rather than a mere status symbol, which sustains demand among serious buyers.