Football manager Andrea Pirlo spotted wearing a Hublot

Andrea Pirlo was photographed on the touchline wearing the Hublot Big Bang Unico 'Black Magic' in black ceramic, reference 411.CI.1170.RX — a watch whose obsidian aesthetic matches the studied composure that defined his playing career and now characterises his approach to management.

The Big Bang Unico 'Black Magic' runs on Hublot's in-house HUB1242 UNICO flyback chronograph movement, a column-wheel, vertical-clutch calibre beating at 28,800 vph with a 72-hour power reserve. The movement is visible through the sapphire caseback, and the lateral titanium bridges — themselves blackened — give the architecture a coherence that earlier Big Bang models with outsourced ebauches lacked. The 45mm case is machined from Hublot's proprietary zirconium-oxide ceramic compound, which achieves a Vickers hardness in excess of 1,200 HV. The integrated rubber strap, vulcanised in the same jet black, completes the total-black concept that earned the nickname 'Black Magic' among collectors.

The Big Bang line launched in 2005 and divided opinion sharply — critics called it oversized and showy, admirers credited Jean-Claude Biver with injecting commercial energy into a Le Locle manufacture that had lost direction. The Unico variant, introduced in 2010 with the proprietary movement, answered a significant portion of that criticism. Having a genuine in-house column-wheel flyback chronograph changed the conversation from aesthetics to engineering, and the 'Black Magic' ceramic execution — first presented in its current form around 2014 — has become one of the steadiest references in the range, appealing to buyers who want presence without metallic flash.

Pirlo is an established Hublot ambassador, and the relationship predates his management career. As a player at Juventus and the Italian national side, he appeared in campaign material for the brand. The 'Black Magic' is a logical fit: no gold, no colour, nothing extraneous — qualities that have defined the man's public image since his San Siro years.

At retail, the Hublot Big Bang Unico 'Black Magic' 411.CI.1170.RX is positioned in the mid-tier of the Big Bang catalogue. On the secondary market, ceramic Unico references hold value reasonably well given strong brand recognition and the functional appeal of the in-house movement, though they trade at or slightly below retail rather than commanding premiums — making them accessible entry points into serious Hublot collecting.