Suiza · Fundación 1980
Hublot
The first Hublot of 1980 paired a gold case with a natural rubber strap.
Texto editorial en inglés.
LVMH-owned brand founded in 1980 by Carlo Crocco and based in Nyon, near Geneva. Its 'Art of Fusion' combines gold and steel with rubber, ceramic, carbon and sapphire, led by the Big Bang chronograph. It makes the UNICO chronograph calibre in-house; most models cost EUR 12,000–30,000.
Historia
Carlo Crocco, from the Italian family behind the Binda watch group, moved to Switzerland, set up the company MDM Genève and designed a watch he named Hublot, French for porthole. Shown at the Basel fair in 1980, it combined a gold case with the industry's first natural rubber strap, which had taken three years to develop. The watch sold more than US$2 million in its first year. The round porthole case with visible screws remained the brand's signature through the 1980s and 1990s.
In May 2004 Crocco appointed Jean-Claude Biver, previously head of Omega and the executive behind Blancpain's revival, as chief executive; Biver also took a minority stake. At Baselworld 2005 he launched the Big Bang, a large chronograph combining different materials under the slogan 'Art of Fusion'. Orders tripled within a year, and the watch won the design prize at the 2005 Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève. Sales rose from CHF 24 million in 2004 to close to CHF 100 million by the end of 2006.
LVMH bought Hublot from Crocco in April 2008, and a manufacture in Nyon opened in 2009. The in-house UNICO chronograph calibre, with its column wheel visible on the dial side, followed in 2010. In 2011 the brand presented Magic Gold, a scratch-resistant 18-carat gold made by combining gold with boron carbide ceramic, and opened its own foundry. Biver moved to chairman in 2012, when Ricardo Guadalupe took over as chief executive.
Hublot built its profile through sport. It supplied watches to referees at UEFA Euro 2008, was official timekeeper of every FIFA World Cup from 2010 to 2022, and has worked with the Premier League since the 2020–21 season. Material research continued with the Big Bang Sapphire of 2016, a case machined from sapphire in a limited edition of 500, and coloured ceramics. In 2012 a Hublot movement reproducing the Antikythera mechanism joined the National Archaeological Museum in Athens. Julien Tornare became chief executive in July 2023.
Fundadores
- Carlo Crocco
- Founder
- Italian entrepreneur from the family behind the Binda group who founded Hublot and launched its gold-and-rubber watch in 1980. He sold the company to LVMH in 2008.
- Jean-Claude Biver
- Chief executive 2004–2012, then chairman · 1949–
- Revived Blancpain in 1983 and headed Omega before joining Hublot, where the Big Bang became his signature product. He later ran LVMH's watch division.
Hitos
1980
First Hublot shown in Basel
Carlo Crocco's porthole-shaped gold watch on a natural rubber strap is presented at the Basel fair.
2004
Jean-Claude Biver becomes CEO
Biver joins in May 2004 as chief executive, board member and minority shareholder.
2005
Big Bang
The mixed-material chronograph launches at Baselworld and wins the design prize at the Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève.
2008
LVMH acquisition
LVMH buys Hublot from Carlo Crocco in April 2008.
2009
Nyon manufacture opens
Hublot inaugurates its production site in Nyon, near Geneva.
2010
UNICO calibre
The first in-house chronograph movement, with a column wheel visible on the dial side.
2011
Magic Gold
A scratch-resistant 18-carat gold combined with ceramic; Hublot opens its own foundry.
2012
Ricardo Guadalupe becomes CEO
Biver moves to chairman as Guadalupe takes over day-to-day management.
2016
Big Bang Sapphire
A case machined from sapphire, limited to 500 pieces and priced at US$57,900.
2023
Julien Tornare becomes CEO
Tornare succeeds Guadalupe as chief executive in July 2023.
Tres cosas que saben los coleccionistas
Three years for a strap
The natural rubber strap of the first Hublot took three years to develop. Fitting rubber to a gold watch was new enough in 1980 that it became the brand's defining feature.
Gold mixed with ceramic
Magic Gold is 18-carat gold, 75 percent pure, bound into boron carbide ceramic. The result resists scratches far better than standard gold alloys and is cast in Hublot's own foundry.
An ancient computer for the wrist
Hublot built a movement reproducing functions of the Antikythera mechanism; it joined the collection of the National Archaeological Museum in Athens on 5 April 2012.
Modelos emblemáticos
- Big Bang2005
Mixed-material chronograph that relaunched the brand; UNICO versions use the in-house column-wheel movement.
- Classic Fusion2008
Slimmer round-bezel line closest to the 1980 original, in titanium, gold and ceramic.
- Spirit of Big Bang2014
Tonneau-shaped variant of the Big Bang with skeletonised dials.
- Square Bang Unico2022
Square-cased chronograph built around the UNICO movement.
Preguntas
- Who owns Hublot?
- LVMH, which bought the company from founder Carlo Crocco in April 2008. Hublot sits in LVMH's watch division with TAG Heuer and Zenith.
- What does Hublot mean?
- Hublot is French for porthole, a reference to the round bezel with visible screws of Carlo Crocco's first design in 1980.
- How do you pronounce Hublot?
- oo-BLOH. In French the h is silent and so is the final t.
- Does Hublot make its own movements?
- Partly. The UNICO chronograph calibre, introduced in 2010, is made in-house in Nyon, as are several tourbillon and high-complication movements. Some simpler models use base movements from outside suppliers.