One of the new Hublot Big Bang Unico 45 watches for 2015 was the limited edition Italia Independent model. Hublot continues their close partnership with other brands and events with more limited edition watches that hope to attract both lovers of Hulobt and Italia Independent products. What makes these two limited edition Hublot Big Bang Unico models the most unique is the blue and gray color styles, as well as the “Texalium” material used for much of the case and bezel.

Visually, the Hublot Big Bang Unico 45 Italia Independent watches are quite interesting, and at first, although it just looks like a visually aggressive texture, the Texalium material is unique and makes a case for itself. Without a doubt, however, is the fact that they are very much “fashion forward” Hublot Big Bang watches meant for those looking for “it” products to go with “it” pieces of clothing. Nevertheless, if you find yourself connected to these looks, there might very well be a place for this trippy blue or gray Hublot Big Bang Unico Italia Independent timepiece in your life.

Oh, and if you aren’t familiar with Italia Independent, it is a company that makes mostly eye wear for men and women. Many of their products are known for having traditional or iconic shapes with bold colors or patterns to make them a bit more fashionably interesting. Italia Independent sunglasses aren’t super cheap, but with an average price of $200 – $300, they aren’t the type of product that only people buying luxury watches would know about.

I actually think that Hublot is clever in working with more affordable brands that nevertheless strike a nerve with those looking for very contemporary cool things. By working with a brand like Italia Independent, Hublot is really able to reach a wide audience – many people that may not know much about Hublot or the Hublot brand at all.

So, what is Texalium? It is actually very close to carbon fiber in terms of how it looks and how it is produced. However, the tightness of the weave and the colors can be controlled a lot more. Popular Texalium colors include red, black, yellow, blue, and silver. You can see that Hublot opted for the blue and silver/gray colors of Texalium for these Hublot Big Bang Unico Italia Independent watches. The pictures of the blue version on the wrist of our own James Stacey (who always looks good in blue) can show you how nice and rich the colors come out.

Texalium is not carbon fiber, but rather, a fiberglass fabric that uses a thin coating of aluminum on its surface. This coating is very thin and reflective, which gives the material its signature look. Hublot compliments the Texalium color and material with a matching color for the hands and markers, as well as denim-style straps – with studs.

While, on paper, I don’t know if I would have believed strap studs to be necessary, they do look cool either in naked titanium on the blue watch or in black titanium on the gray watch. Say what you will about Hublot, and you certainly don’t have to like these “looks,” but the overall presentation of these watches does fit the Hublot and Italia Independent themes very nicely.

At its core, the watch is the Hublot Big Bang Unico 45 which comes in a range of models and was originally introduced in 2013 by aBlogtoWatch here. We’ve discussed this watch at length, which is a 45mm wide version of the Hublot Big Bang with an in-house made Hublot movement. This is probably the best all-around Hublot Big Bang to date, unless you want to go with the similar Hublot Big Bang Ferrari. The case is 45mm wide and water resistant to 100 meters. I continue to like the details around the chronograph pushers and locking crown system, as well as the quick release for the straps.

Inside this Hublot Big Bang Unico 45 Italia Independent and most other Hublot Big Bang UNICO 45 watches is the in-house made Hublot caliber HUB 1242 Unico automatic chronograph movement with a 30 minute chronograph and 72 hours of power reserve, operating at 4Hz. The movement can be admired through the open-work dial as well as the exhibition caseback.

While not everyone is a fan of Hublot’s Big Bang watch collection, I am. Some of the early Hublot Big Bang models are not classics, and the more modern 45mm-wide models are proving to be extremely popular, even though they aren’t at all cheap. Hublot continues to keep the collection fresh with limited editions that are much more interesting today than they were several years ago. Hublot is also doing better making sure that each limited edition watch has a specific niche it is targeting, and that is precisely the case with the Hublot Big Bang Unico 45 Italia Independent. The ref. 411.YT.1110.NR.ITI15 in gray and the ref. 411.YL.5190.NR.ITI15 in blue are each limited to 500 pieces at a price of $28,600. hublot.com