More than any other brand, Hublot is built around partnership and collaboration. Of course, the Nyon-based watchmaker has watches that stand tall on their own — the Big Bang is an icon of modern watch design, after all. But through teamwork and collaboration Hublot’s watches truly become something greater.

That’s certainly the case with the series of watches Hublot has made to support Save Our Rhinos Africa and India (SORAI). SORAI is a socially conscious enterprise founded in 2018 by former England cricket captain (and Hublot ambassador) Kevin Pietersen. Pietersen was born in South Africa and grew up with a passion for the natural world and an understanding of its importance. This lifelong awareness translated to action for Pietersen; the rhino was a natural place to start. “Rhinos are a critically endangered keystone species,” Pietersen explains, “Along with the lion, leopard, buffalo and elephant, the rhino is one of Africa’s big five game species. If we lose one of them, we love part of Africa’s heritage.” Beyond this significance, Pietersen tells us that working to save endangered rhinoceros species has a much bigger impact. “The ecosystem around a keystone species is fundamental to making sure that other animals thrive and survive in the wild. So, for example, if you look after a rhino, some of them are grazers, and some of them are browsers. If you take a keystone species out of an ecosystem, it completely destroys the lives of animals that live in and around it.”

It’s this work that SORAI, with help from Hublot, supports. Pietersen explains, “We raise significant amounts of money to be able to put it to the right channels, and we’ve used so many different opportunities for advancement: we have funded school programs, we have funded “Care for Wild” the rhino sanctuary, and we continue to look after the people that dedicate their lives to the cause.” Hublot has been an immeasurably powerful partner in SORAI’s work. “Hublot can target different corners of the globe that I can’t get to,” says Pietersen. “Cricket is part of the commonwealth: the issue for rhino poaching and the rhino horn trade is the east. Cricket doesn’t penetrate that market, whereas a brand like Hublot already has a big presence in that area. There are so many different avenues where Hublot helped us, the animal and the people.” Positive change isn’t easy, but it is happening. The World Wide Fund for Nature says that the population of Indian rhinos is around 4000, up from 200 at the start of the 20th century. On a similar note, the black rhino population has doubled in the last two decades.

At the heart of Hublot’s involvement is the series of SORAI watches — and the fourth in the series is the Spirit of Big Bang Tourbillon 5-Day Power Reserve SORAI, a limited edition of 30 pieces, and the first in the SORAI series to use the tonneau-shaped Spirit of Big Bang model. Naturally, Pietersen had an involvement with the actual design of the watch, which is cased in microblasted and polished ‘warm grey’ ceramic, reminiscent of the skin of a rhinoceros, and paired with a grey fabric strap, as well as an additional rubber strap with a grey and beige camouflage pattern. The colour palette and outdoorsy elements are key to the SORAI identity, and on the 42mm Spirit of Big Bang case, they feel very current. Of course, the movement is an important part of this equation, too.

Obviously, it’s visually stunning; the HUB6020 calibre is an open-worked marvel, a hand-wound skeletonised tourbillon sandwiched between the sapphire crystals, with an architecture both dynamic and dramatic. In addition to the striking tourbillon cage, there’s a power reserve indicator at nine — after all, if you’ve got five days of reserve, you might as well show it off — and finally, an off-centre main dial sensibly positioned towards the crown, for easy reading under a cuff.

Not only does this special collaborative watch play a meaningful role in raising awareness around the importance of rhinoceros populations, it also helps raise funds for conservation programs, with a portion of the price of each watch being donated to organisations working to save the rhino.

Tech Specs: Hublot Spirit of Big Bang Tourbillon 5-Day Power Reserve SORAI

Movement: HUB602, manually wound tourbillon with 115 hours of power reserve
Functions: Hours, minutes, power reserve
Case: Microblasted and polished grey ceramic, 42 x 13.25mm, water-resistant to 30M
Dial: Sapphire
Strap: Grey fabric with velcro strap, additional camouflage rubber strap
Price and availability: Limited to 30 pieces, CHF 100,000