It was announced yesterday that Beyonce has signed a multi-year, $50 million deal with Pepsi and now we know why – so she could pay for Jay-Z’s birthday present! The 31-year-old singer treated her husband to a $5 million Hublot “Big Bang” watch for his 43rd birthday, which I’m hoping will inspire him to record a new song titled “Single Ballers” in which the chorus goes “If you liked it then you shoulda put a watch on it.”
A “man in the know” tells The Daily Star, “Jay Z is a huge watch collector and was very excited when he was given the gift. He can’t wait to start flashing it around. It is absolutely stunning. In Beyoncé’s defence, what do you buy the man who already has everything?”
So how confident was Beyonce in her gift selection? “She knew he would love the Hublot Big Bang watch. It’s the ultimate timepiece, a mixture of extravagance, luxury and bling.”
The super couple have a history of extravagant gift giving, which is an option when you’re combined wealth is larger than most countries. “Beyoncé will always buy Jay the best gifts money can buy. Money is no object to her.”
Here is a video clip of the $5 million “Big Bang” watch in which you can see it from every direction. After that is the official press release from Hublot with details about the piece:
A world first, a unique piece, an exceptional and incredibly rare feat. And a completely different approach was used for its creation. Unlike an Haute Joaillerie piece, where the design and technical construction are created to “emphasise and serve” stones which have already been selected, the opposite approach was adopted. The diamond cutters started with a design and then found the diamonds whxich best matched the complex construction of the case, dial and bracelet. Cutters and setters then employed all of their expertise to resize them to ensure a perfect fit.
First challenge: to develop the design of the Big Bang, whilst retaining its graphic codes to ensure it cohesively integrates more than 3 carats of diamonds. Once the technical design was finalised, then the diamonds had to be found and combined. It took one year for the largest stones which came from all four corners of the world, and the same for the 1276 others. Every stone was individually selected to ensure that all were of a consistent quality and colour. They then had to be resized, one by one, to make them a perfect fit for the watch. A renowned “master cutter” from New York with over 40 years’ experience was responsible for single-handedly cutting the largest GIA-certified stones to ensure they all had the same cut “signature”.
It was a lengthy process to complete: 14 months of work for all the different disciplines combined, including 7 months’ work for 12 cutters, and the same for the 5 setters, with all the major specialists working on the piece full-time. A total of 1282 diamonds, more than 100 carats of baguette diamonds, a dazzling expression of the work of the best craftsmen in their field.
This watch can be considered as a veritable collection of diamonds. A collection of tableaux. Each was individually chosen in relation to the others to create a harmonious whole.
This is the most precious watch ever created by Hublot and its long-standing partner, Atelier Bunter in Geneva. The diamonds selected by Hublot are all of the highest quality, graded A VVS in clarity and Top Wesselton in colour.
TECHNICAL DETAILS
A total of 1282 diamonds
More than 100 carats of baguette diamonds
6 square emerald cut stones, each weighing more than 3 carats
Case: 44 mm in diameter – 18K white gold set with 302 baguette diamonds, totalling 27 carats
Crystal: Sapphire with interior and exterior anti-reflective coating, plus metallised Hublot logo
Case-back: Enclosed, made from 18K white gold with engraved Hublot seal
Crown: 18K white gold set with 12 baguette diamonds totalling 0.67 carats, and a rose-cut diamond of 1.06 carats
Dial: 18K white gold, 150 Palladium, set with 179 baguette diamonds totalling 8.75 carats
Hands: Faceted and diamond-polished rhodium-plated skeleton hands
Movement: HUB 1100 Self-winding mechanical movement – Frequency: 28,800 Vib/h (4 Hz)
Diameter: 11 1/2 ’’’ (Ø 25.60 mm)
Thickness: 3.60 mm
Components: 63 (Jewels: 25)
Power reserve: Approximately 42 hours
Bracelet: 18 K white gold set with 782 baguette diamonds, totalling 45 carats
6 square emerald cut diamonds, each over 3 carats, totalling more than 18 carats
Clasp 18K white gold deployant buckle
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