Hublot has been a huge success despite not having many different movements, let alone a wide variety of complicated watches. Why has it gained so much support? CEO Ricardo Guadalupe responded:
Interview and Text by Masayuki Hirota (Chronos-Japan)
Edited by Yukiya Suzuki (Chronos-Japan)
[Article published in the July 2024 issue of Kronos Japan]
I want to offer young people something different from what their parents' generation had.
"Our concept is the art of fusion. We differentiate ourselves from other brands through art, materials, and design. For example, our collaboration with Takashi Murakami is a fusion of his art and Hublot's. I believe that it is thanks to this special concept that our brand has become known to many people."
Hublot CEO. Born in Neuchâtel, Switzerland in 1965. After graduating from Swiss business school and UCLA, he joined Bulgari. Seven years later, he met Jean-Claude Biver and joined Blancpain. In 1997, he became sales and marketing director. He left the company in 2001, but joined Hublot again in 2004 when Biver became CEO. He has been responsible for restructuring products, marketing, and the sales network. He has held his current position since 2012.
He also gives his opinion on the state of the manufacture.
"We develop our own carbon fiber, sapphire crystal, and Magic Gold. For many manufacturers, a manufacture only produces movements. But we also invest in design and material development. Large manufacturers would be reluctant to take such risks."
It is true that Hublot is the only manufacturer that can produce sapphire crystal from a block, but the company says that it is not just focusing on materials, but also on movement development.
"We are a young brand and are still building our manufacture know-how from a movement perspective. We hope to grow this area even further over the next five to ten years."
Hublot has now grown to a considerable size, but while it is not a niche brand, its stance is quite different from that of the so-called major manufacturers. The symbol of this is the sapphire crystal material.
This model achieves the emerald green color, which was previously difficult to achieve with sapphire crystal. It took approximately two years to develop. By using SAXEM, which has a cubic crystal structure, it boasts extremely stable color development. Automatic winding (Cal. MHUB1280). 43 jewels. 28,800 vph. Power reserve of approximately 72 hours. Green SAXEM case (diameter 42mm, thickness 14.5mm). Water resistant to 5 bar. Limited to 100 pieces worldwide. Release date to be determined. Estimated price: 16,016,000 yen (tax included).
"We were pioneers in using sapphire crystal cases, using a sandwich structure that interlocks multiple materials. Hublot's sapphire models are also more reasonably priced than other brands. However, sapphire is not perfect. Therefore, we decided to redesign the case structure and make it entirely of sapphire so that it would be safe to wear. I don't think major brands would take the risk of releasing a watch with a sapphire case like ours on the market."
Indeed, Hublot's consistent release of sapphire-cased models is, in his words, "disruptive."
It is not surprising that Hublot's current customer base is now between 25 and 40 years old.
"We always want to be cool and disruptive. We're an aspirational brand and we want to offer young people something different from their parents' generation."
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