Watch Paparazzi

Footballer Lionel Messi spotted wearing Hublot

Lionel Messi has never been shy about his affiliation with Hublot — he has served as a brand ambassador since 2010 — but a sighting of him wearing the Big Bang Tourbillon reference 305.CM.002.RX moves the conversation well beyond marketing. This is one of the more technically serious pieces in the Big Bang family, and it deserves a closer look.

The 305.CM.002.RX is built around Hublot's in-house caliber HUB6010, a hand-wound movement featuring a flying tourbillon positioned at 6 o'clock. The 44.5mm case is constructed from carbon fiber composite — the CM in the reference denoting exactly that — which keeps the overall weight remarkably low despite the case's commanding diameter. Power reserve sits at 115 hours, a genuinely useful figure for a tourbillon, and the skeletonized dial ensures the movement architecture is the primary visual statement. Water resistance is rated to 50 meters.

Hublot introduced carbon fiber to its Big Bang lineup in the mid-2000s, a period when the brand was aggressively differentiating itself through material innovation under Jean-Claude Biver. The Big Bang Tourbillon in carbon became one of the cleaner expressions of that philosophy — exotic material, in-house complication, limited numbers — without the visual maximalism that occasionally overwhelmed other references. The 305.CM.002.RX sits in a lineage that serious collectors acknowledge, even if Hublot's mainstream popularity sometimes obscures that fact.

For Messi, the watch aligns naturally with his public image — technically accomplished, quietly assertive, globally legible. His relationship with Hublot spans World Cup campaigns and co-designed editions, but wearing the tourbillon carbon rather than a co-branded piece suggests personal preference over contractual obligation. That distinction matters to collectors.

At a UK list price of approximately £97,000, the Big Bang Tourbillon 305.CM.002.RX occupies serious tourbillon territory. Grey market values for carbon tourbillon references in this family have held relatively firm given their limited production, typically trading close to or slightly below retail depending on condition and papers. For a complication at this price point, the HUB6010 movement represents genuine in-house credibility.