Hublot King Power Oceanographic 4000 Diver Review

On June 6, 2011 Hublot’s CEO Jean-Claude Biver hosted a lavished release party at the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco. This party wasn’t for any ordinary Hublot, but a watch that Hublot had been working on for a year a half. The goal with this watch was to break the current depth rating for high-end timepieces.

The watch that was showcased was a limited edition King Power going by the name Oceanographic 4000. The 4000 naturally refers the water resistance of the watch, which was a record breaking 4000 meters. This was a record that would stand for over ten years, until Omega (6000 meters) and Rolex (11000 meters) released their new ultra deep divers in 2022. In 2011 however, the ability to reach 4000 meters was a stunning achievement and Hublot even went a step further successfully testing the watch down to 5000 meters.



The King Power Oceanographic 4000 came in two versions. The first was crafted in titanium and was limited to 1000 pieces and the second was fully crafted in carbon fiber and limited to 500 pieces. The Oceanographic Museum of Monaco was a perfect place to launch the watch since this watch was created to support the museum and the conservation of the oceans, going as far as donating a significant amount of money to the Museum’s cause.

Some technical specs on the watch are as follows, we will stick with the carbon fiber version since that’s the watch we’re reviewing. The Oceanographic 4000 has a case diameter of 48 mm and a case thickness of 21.9 mm. A large part of the thickness is due to the fact that Hublot used a 6.5 mm crystal on the watch to compensate for the extreme depths it can reach. The outer case is completely crafted out of carbon fiber, while the inner core is made of titanium. The movement is a sourced self-winding automatic movement featuring 42 hours of power reserve with 28,800 variations per hour, based off of the tried and true ETA 2892. The watch comes with a thick black rubber strap with a pin buckle with an optional velcro fabric strap for diving. The reference number is 731.QX.1140.RX and when released the retail price was $30,400.

Being a watch tested in Hublot’s Roxer tank down to 5000 meters, the watch was fitted with a helium relief valve at 10 o’clock which is essential for any watch going to such great depths. The case back is made of solid grade 2 titanium and is naturally screwed down. Both crowns are also screw down and the upper crown is protected by an oversized crown guard. This upper crown is used to set the inner rotating dive time bezel and the crown guard is there to stop any chance of having the dive time accidentally changed during a dive.



As you can tell, there is an extreme amount of technology packed into this King Power. Even without using an in-house movement, the $30,400 retail price was justified back in 2011. Remember at this time period, the Big Bang and King Power’s closest competitor was the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore that also did not use an in-house movement and were charging similar prices for their offerings. The fit and finish of this watch is at least the same as the Offshores of the time as well.

Before we get into my thoughts on the King Power Oceanographic 4000, let me preface this review by saying this watch is in my personal collection. Meaning that I spent our own money on the watch and there are no other influences on the review. I did not seek out this watch, but instead ended up buying it from another dealer listing it for sale with all intent of selling it myself. When the watch arrived, I was blown away by it and replaced my current diver’s watch with the Oceanographic. I was also able to purchase the watch at a fraction of what its retail price was in 2011.

My biggest concern with the King Power Oceanographic 4000 was the thickness of the watch at 21.9 mm. I do prefer larger watches, but didn’t think I had anything near that thickness. I had some watches around 15 mm and the thickness of those were never an issue. I did happen to find one watch in my collection that was 20 mm and after trying that watch on again, realized another 2 mm shouldn’t be that crazy. The 48 mm case diameter didn’t bother me at all. My IWC Big Pilot Top Gun Perpetual Calendar is 48 mm and my Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Montoya is 44 mm with flared lugs making it wear much larger. Also with the carbon and titanium construction, I wasn’t too worried with the weight either.



Before the watch arrived, I had already gone back and forth a million times if I would trade out the IWC GST Aquatimer 2000 in titanium that was my current diver’s watch for the Oceanographic. The evening the watch came in, I made sure that my wife and I went out for a quick drink so I could get some wrist time with the watch. Being that it was December, it was hoodie weather and a great time to test the thickness. For the most part, if I’m wearing long sleeves it’s going to be a hoodie. I have to say the case was a little tall to slide under the hoodie’s cuff without help and it would get caught up on the watch. This doesn’t bother me too much, since it is more of a summer time watch and having it bunched up at the end of a hoodie’s sleeve really doesn’t cause me much concern.

The watch is a little bit heavier than I thought it would be, but still much lighter than anything of similar size crafted out of steel, gold or platinum. For example, it is much lighter than my previous diver’s watch, the Sinn U2 crafted out of German Submarine Steel. The size is just fine and with the downward facing lugs and large rubber strap, the watch sits flat and tight on my 7.25 inch wrist. It’s my personal preference that on such expensive watches that a deployment clasp should be used instead of a tang buckle though. I always get a bit nervous when I’m putting such an expensive watch on my wrist and have to balance it while moving my hands to put the strap on. It’s just a matter of time until you drop a watch with a tang buckle.



I’m not sure how I feel about the crown guard on the upper crown though. I don’t necessarily hate the shape or size of the guard, but the “Diver 4000” text is a little too much for me. Maybe it's that the text is done in white and really stands out, maybe if it was done in grey or black, it would blend in better. Even some of my favorite watches in my personal collection have a bit of corny to them, like the bright Top Gun logo on the case back of my Big Pilot Perpetual Calendar, so I’ll give the Oceanographic’s crown guard a pass. I’m also not sure about the functionality of the inner diver bezel on this version since the markings are so dark on the bezel that reading them at depth might be a nightmare. In all reality, this watch will not be used for any serious diving and having the markings being subtle looks better for day to day wear. This watch does have a very similar feeling to my wife’s Big Bang All Black 41 mm, with everything being black from the strap to the case and dial. The indices, Hublot logo and hands are nice and reflective at least, making the watch very legible for its dark aesthetic.

The case back of the watch is solid blackened titanium and features the logo of the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco. Over the past 10 years I have really been involved with the conservation of the ocean as well as being deep into the saltwater fish and coral hobby. At one point I even had a 650 gallon saltwater reef tank with all kinds of rare fish and coral. I have also made saltwater fish and coral into a business that we run alongside of Hourstiker. So the link of this watch to the conversation of the oceans is huge to me on a personal level.



Now let’s talk about the most obvious design element of this Oceanographic, the carbon fiber case. I’m used to carbon fiber from a lifetime obsession with performance cars, so when I see anything crafted out of carbon fiber I instantly love it. The closest I’ve been to carbon fiber on a watch, is the carbon fiber bezel on my titanium Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Montoya. I have had some extended periods of wearing forged carbon watches in both the gold and fully forged carbon cased versions of the Royal Oak Offshore Team Alinghi. Both of those watches featured forged carbon bezels with the fully forged version having its case completely made out of forged carbon. Through personal experience and also what I’ve seen online, these forged carbon watches do not hold up well to dings, gouges and scrapes.

I have read that carbon fiber does hold up a lot better to abuse than forged carbon, but I’m still a bit nervous about scratching the watch. The two most recent times I have worn the watch, I have obsessed over if the watch has a scratch or if it’s just a mark that will come of. In both cases, it was just a mark.

With all that being said, the carbon fiber case is just stunning. The weave of the carbon fiber just comes alive when it is hit with any amount of sunlight and is very subtle in low light. Being an ultra lightweight material also helps with a watch of this size. The dark weave pattern of the carbon fiber combined with the black dial and rubber strap really make this watch a very unique timepiece. I really can’t wait until it warms up a bit and I can wear this watch with t-shirts and shorts.



One huge, maybe just for me, downside to this all black look is that marks really stand out on the case. After wearing the watch for the first few times I noticed white marks around the 6 o’clock area on the top and side of the bezel. No matter how much rubbing from my fingers I tried, the marks wouldn’t go away. For a period I though the marks were scratches. When I got home, I proceeded to use hot water and soap with a toothbrush to try to remove the white marks. After some time they did come off. Where the bezel attaches to the case, there was the smallest amount of white material I could not remove. I believe it is just stuck between the bezel and case, and the bezel would need to be removed to have it cleaned. This is just my over active mind in play here, most people would not be bothered or even notice this. I’m not sure if these marks were there when I received the watch, or if I bumped into something. I do have to say that the bezel design does actually have some very sharp edges, so it wouldn’t surprise me if I did scratch something with the bezel that caused these white marks. My best guess would be drywall.

As for keeping time, when I put the King Power Oceanographic 4000 on our timegrapher, it is well within chronometer specifications. I have also never noticed the watch being off after being set. Although the movement isn’t an in-house caliber, it is based off of one of the most tested and produced movements out there. Hublot doesn’t mention what base caliber the HUB 1401 movement is based on, but looking at other Hublot models with similar number of jewels, components and frequency it’s not hard to make a very educated guess that it is the ETA 2892.

Is the watch perfect? No it is not. What would make the watch perfect in my mind? I’d say if Hublot would have either waited a few years and put one of their in-house calibers in the watch, or maybe partnered with a smaller more respected movement maker to supply the movement for the Oceanographic, it would have moved the watch up a few notches. Also if the crown guard had a more subtle text, the watch might look a little more stealth, fitting in with the all black look. Maybe the white text was used so the crown guard could be located quickly at depth. The final thing I would have changed on the watch would have been the case thickness. If Hublot could have shaved a few mm off of the thickness and brought it in a few mm under 20 mm, I think the watch would be able to be comfortably worn in almost all circumstances. I’m sure as well that with 18 months of development, the watch had to be 22 mm thick to achieve the 4000 meter plus water resistance.



I’d say with all things considered, Hublot did an amazing job on the King Power Oceanographic 4000. It held the depth record for over 10 years, used such innovative materials as carbon fiber and titanium and really packed a ton into an all business dive watch. We liked it enough to spend our own money on it after all. Also with how much I obsess that I might have scratched it while wearing it, I guess that means I really like it.