SOUND AND LIGHT SHOW

Combining the rhythms of a drum machine and the tempo of a watch mechanism, the brand from Nyon has created an extravagant world with limited editions designed with Nicky Jam.

Are you familiar with reggaeton? In case you don’t know, this is an urban music style that is spreading its high-tempo rhythms all over the American continent. Among the stars of the genre is Nicky Jam, whose success caught the eye of Hublot. He has been the brand’s ambassador since June 2018. And now three watches that are as colourful as the singer’s hit records have just been unveiled. The Big Bang Meca-10 Nicky Jam models are available in three different versions, all designed around a 45mm-wide case. The first is limited to 100 pieces and is made of black ceramic. The second comes in 30 copies and is designed in King Gold, an alloy combining gold with copper and platinum. The bezel and the dial are also set with precious stones, namely, yellow, orange and green sapphires. The colours borrow from the colours featured in the video for Nicky Jam’s song “X“, seen over 1.4 billion times on YouTube. The third specially made watch shines as brightly as the spotlights when the singer is onstage. This piece of luxury jewellery combines King Gold with 367 diamonds for a total of 19.54 carats.

All the Big Bang Meca-10 Nicky Jam feature the singer’s signature on the crystal caseback and come with a pair of straps featuring a folding clasp made of black alcantara or red, yellow and green alligator leather.

Price on request www.hublot.com

By Dan Diaconu

UP TO THE SUMMITS

The watchmakers specialised in combining often surprising materials have launched three limited edition watches paying homage to one of Switzerland’s most famous symbols: the Matterhorn

The Matterhorn is one of Switzerland’s most striking landmarks. Rising to an altitude of 4,478m, it can be seen on the famous triangular box of chocolates made by Toblerone. It is the 12th highest peak in the Alps. The world-famous mountain with its distinctive shape stands out against the sky on the border of Switzerland and Italy. Hublot has paid homage to the mountain by including it in three Big Bang Zermatt chronographs made of rose gold, steel or jewelled steel.

Price: 30,900 CHF (rose gold) – 17,700 CHF (steel with diamonds) – 14,900 CHF (steel) www.hublot.com

By Sharmila Bertin

SYNCHRONISED TO WEB 4.0

Hiding behind the name Satoshi Nakamoto is the creator of the first virtual currency and a new vision for exchanging value. A new watch celebrating these innovations can only be bought with bitcoins.

Most people have now heard of bitcoin. The virtual currency was invented just 10 years ago and has given rise to numerous fantasies. For some it is a speculative investment, for others it is the means of payment of the future. In any event, the crypto-currency symbolises the revolution of P2P (peer-to-peer) exchanges and transactions between computers and servers on the internet. Alongside bitcoin, the concept of the blockchain was born. Storing and transmitting information without centralised control are the rules in a world that seems very much immaterial. Just like time? To give material form to the concept, Hublot has launched the Meca-10 P2P model at the end of this year. The watch is designed around a large, black, 45mm-wide ceramic case, taking us into a modern, aesthetic and digital world. On the sapphire crystal caseback, an interconnected map of the world evokes data traffic, the strap features lines recalling printed circuit boards, and the bezel is encircled with figures and letters like a line of computer code.

This limited edition of just 210 pieces, a reference to the number of bitcoins in the world (21 million), is only on sale online with payment using the famous digital currency.

Price: the equivalent of $25,000 in bitcoins www.hublot.com

By Dan Diaconu

PARTY OUTFIT

Calaveras and Catrinas parade through the streets of Mexico to pay a visit to the dead. Their sophisticated make-up has inspired a set of limited edition watches by Hublot.

The Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) festivities, listed by UNESCO as part of humanity’s cultural heritage in 2008, are a constant source of inspiration for Hublot. The brand launched the Big Bang One Click Calavera Catrina at the 11th SIAR, the luxury watchmaking trade show in Mexico City. Like the joyful festivities celebrating the dead, but also life, these limited edition watches are bursting with bright colours, helped by the 42 sapphires sparking on the bezel. On the dial, the image of a skull in the same eye-catching colours stands out against the lacquered black or white background. The hour and minute hands are open-worked, so that we can enjoy the festive design to the full. There are no figures or hour markers to disturb the display, but just a discreet minute track. The 39mm-wide case is as colourful as children’s sweets and available in three different materials. 100 pieces are made of black ceramic, and the same number come in steel. The other 50 watches are made of King Gold, an alloy of copper gold and platinum developed by Hublot.

All the Big Bang One Click Calavera Catrina watches are powered by a self-winding movement, the calibre HUB1710. Once fully wound, it provides 50 hours of power reserve.

Price on request www.hublot.com

By Dan Diaconu

Interview conducted during the Finali Mondiali which took place on the world-famous Monza racetrack from 2 to 4 November 2018

Alain Carrier: In the past, Panerai and Girard-Perregaux created Ferrari-stamped timepieces yet which had but little success. But, for 6 years now, Hublot’s partnership with Ferrari has been experiencing unprecedented success. What has made the difference?

Ricardo Guadalupe: Several parameters. One of them is that, at Hublot, we haven’t limited ourselves to watches. We initiated this partnership across all levels and all fields where Ferrari has a foothold. As such, we’re with them for Formula 1. We’re also present in dealerships around the world. Each dealership has a Hublot clock or a display case containing a Hublot product. We’re also present on all Ferrari-organized events. And that’s over 200 a year! From the 60-year celebrations of the brand in the USA to the 30-year ones in China. Besides this, we work with a great many Ferrari clubs too.

And, we also work hand-in-hand with the teams on the products. All the designs were made with the Ferrari team and supervised by Flavio Manzoni. In the end, we’ve succeeded where the others failed: by selling Hublot – Ferrari watches to Ferrari car owners.

All these parameters have ensured our collaboration is a great success. And this is why our partnership has been renewed and continues.

Alain Carrier: Techframe is an exclusive timepiece with a tourbillon fashioned in carbon, titanium and gold. Are you going to release this model without the tourbillon to target the general public?

Ricardo Guadalupe: It’s a product which we worked on to commemorate Ferrari’s 70^th anniversary and it’s a watch which is not part of any of our collections. For a watchmaking brand, it’s vital to pursue its iconic lines. For us, our two cornerstones continue to be Big Bang and Classic Fusion. Big Bang is a really typical product with a strong identity; Classic Fusion is a bit more “sensible” and corresponds more so to the Hublot entry point. To embark on a third line would be rather complicated.

Techframe is a one-off exercise which experienced commercial success in spite of the fact it’s incredibly high-end with its tourbillon chronograph.

Next year will be the 90^th anniversary of Scuderia Ferrari and, of course, the Formula 1 team. We’re planning on presenting something totally new.

One shots with really unique models as regards style and design continue to interest us for the future.

Alain Carrier: Between football and automobile, which sector is most attractive for Hublot?

Ricardo Guadalupe: Ah, it’s difficult to say but with Ferrari we can see things concretely because we create Ferrari models and we see what we sell. Whereas with football, we can’t have the same idea because this sport is used more so to promote the brand. During the World Cup this year in Russia, we had twenty minutes’ visibility through the sign the fourth official brandished during player changeover and during the announcement of extra play. Twenty minutes’ visibility, it’s enormous because we’re reaching billions of people. If even only one person out there knows that Hublot is a watch brand, it’s still really positive.

Of course not everyone can afford to own a Hublot but here the approach is totally different. The aim is to make Hublot known throughout the world and to make it a brand that allows you to dream. We talk to young people through football. If some become successful in their lives, then maybe in five or ten years, they may choose to buy a Hublot. Football is a vector for communication focusing on prestige, perfect for targeting potential customers.

In the end, for Hublot, both worlds, football and automobile, complement each other really well.

Alain Carrier: Are you approached by other sports to become their sponsor?

Ricardo Guadalupe: Of course! We’re frequently approached but we’ve made choices. We pursue our route with our two cornerstones, football and Ferrari, where we make almost two thirds of our sponsoring investments. However, we have forged relationships in other spheres which we enjoy working with like music through Depeche Mode and the piano virtuoso Lang Lang as well as with Nicky Jam, a modern-day reggaeton icon in the United States and in Latin America. Hublot has also partnerships in the world of art and lifestyle with collaborations with Richard Orlinski, Berluti and Italia Independente. However, Ferrari and football continue to be our most important partnerships.

www.hublot.com

FLYING THE FLAG!

Taking inspiration from the Mexican motto, “upwards and onwards“, Hublot pursues its quest to combine materials and take new steps forward, as seen in this limited edition watch.

The colour green on the Mexican flag symbolises the nation’s independence, won in the 19^th century, and explains its inclusion on the brand new Classic Fusion Aerofusion Chronograph Orlinski Mexico. The flag’s red colour can be found, too, on the central lacquered second hand. On the watch’s sapphire crystal an eagle and a snake are shown with the signature angular facets found in sculpture by Richard Orlinski. Hublot launched the timepiece during the recent SIAR, the Mexican trade fair dedicated to watchmaking. This is the second model the brand has produced with the contemporary French artist. Here, the 45mm-wide ceramic case topped with a twelve-sided bezel is the ideal canvas for his art. This limited edition of just 30 watches features Orlinski’s famous three-dimensional folds. The combination of shapes and choice of colours help shape the highly graphic and sculptural design.

The Classic Fusion Aerofusion Chronograph Orlinski Mexico comes with a supple, black rubber strap with a folding clasp, reinforcing the striking personality of this numbered special edition that has all the assets needed to delight collectors.

Price on request www.hublot.com

By Dan Diaconu

SCULPTING TIME

At Hublot, the fusion of materials is exalted further through the marriage of styles. This new partnership sets itself apart through its structure cut like a diamond. Focus!

Richard Orlinski has conceived his artistic world around the concept Born Wild, focusing on the idea that violence existing in nature is vital and can be transformed into positive emotions. His XXL-sized creations converge around a staggering faceted bestiary enhanced by a mirror-polished finish and vibrant colours. Showcased in some 90 galleries around the world, the French artist also seduced Hublot. Classic Fusion Aerofusion Chronograph Orlinski is the fruit of their first collaboration. The model marries the features and finery of Hublot timepieces with the creator’s emblematic style. As such, we can admire the artist’s touch on the 45 mm-diameter cases, proposed in titanium and blue ceramic, as well as on the chronograph’s bezel, crown and push-pieces. The relief created is magnified even more by the absent dial. Bridges and geartrains help fashion this highly-graphical composition by offering an ever-so original scenescape of shadow and light.

Time data, embracing hours, minutes, seconds, date and short-cycle time measurement, is symphonized by a self-winding mechanical chronograph movement offering a power reserve of 45 hours. What’s more, the HUB1155 calibre reveals itself through the sapphire-crystal caseback.

Classic Fusion Aerofusion Chronograph Orlinski watches are proposed as a 200-piece limited series. To underline the material effects even more, these timepieces espouse a sleekly-smooth black rubber strap closed by a folding clasp.

Price: CHF16,900 (Titanium) – CHF17,900 (Ceramic) www.hublot.com

By Dan Diaconu

UNION OF LEATHER AND TITANIUM

Two crafts in the LVMH group, based on leather goods and watchmaking, have come together to create an original, ocean-blue watch, available in just 250 pieces.

The famous boot/leather goods maker Berluti, founded in Paris in 1895 and part of the LVMH group since 1993, has been identified with prestige and creativity for 123 years now. But it had a particularly fruitful period in the 1980s, when Olga Berluti designed the Venezia, a full-grain calf leather made with an exclusive tanning and buffing process that produces the same effect as Japanese lacquer. The result is as supple, fine and glossy as silk. This living material is also made in a “Venezia Scritto” version, engraved with calligraphic writing, and now a signature element of the shoemakers’ style. The feature prompted Hublot, another LVMH brand, to design a limited edition of 250 pieces: the Classic Fusion Chronograph Berluti Scritto Ocean Blue.

As its name implies, the watch features the deep blue colour of the oceans on the leather medallion adorning the dial and on the two parts of the strap. The embossed hour markers appear discreetly so as not to spoil the overall effect, especially of the calligraphic inscriptions. Two wide, silvered hands show the hours and minutes in the centre, while the seconds are displayed at 3 o’clock in one of the hollow, blue-lacquered counters. With the stylised H for Hublot at its tip, a large hand counts down the seconds on the chronograph, which are then totted up in the minute totaliser at 9 o’clock.

At the heart of the 45mm-wide case of the Classic Fusion Chronograph Berluti Scritto Ocean Blue is the calibre HUB1143, a self-winding movement driving the different features and providing 42 hours of power reserve.

Price: 14,900 CHF www.hublot.com

By Sharmila Bertin

BLUE INTENSITY

While summer is in full swing in the northern hemisphere, Hublot has released a shaped watch all dressed in blue, with a dial revealing the workings of its complex mechanism. This limited edition of 100 pieces is available only from the brand’s stores.

While its name could belong to a jazz ensemble, the Spirit of Big Bang Blue is in fact a watchmaking ode to the seafaring world in an oceanic colour. The deep blue results from the skills of the Hublot workshops, where the ceramic technique has been in use for over ten years now, along with the skills needed to colour ceramics – a material that is much appreciated for its strong resistance to the ravages of time (scratches and rust, among others) and for its lightness.

Even though the Spirit of Big Bang Blue is not strictly speaking a diver’s watch, its robust case does guarantee water-tightness down to 100m – enough to enjoy most water sports with perfect peace of mind. The tonneau-shaped watch is 42mm wide and topped with a bezel featuring six titanium “H“ screws, and is also made of microblasted and polished ceramic for a matt effect. Two pushbuttons with a titanium crown and two case-sides made of white composite resin round off the watch. A rectangular cut-out section sealed with sapphire glass on the back of the case reveals part of the calibre HUB4700. The self-winding mechanical movement drives the hour, calendar and chronograph functions and runs at 36,000 vibrations an hour (5Hz), providing 50 hours of power reserve.

The dial unveils the metallic lace of the cogs in the rest of this powerful mechanism. Visual landmarks are shown with touches of blue: the rings around the running seconds (at 9 o’clock) and the chronograph totalisers (at 3 and 6 o’clock), plus the date-counter frame (at 4.30). In the centre, two stick-shaped hands display the hours and minutes above facetted and bevelled hour markers.

This Hublot watch is worn with a blue alligator leather strap, lined with white rubber and equipped with a titanium folding clasp.

Price: 24,000 CHF www.hublot.com

By Sharmila Bertin

FRENCH RIVIERA STYLE

When a Swiss watchmaker meets a luxury hotel, the original encounter gives rise to an exclusive chronograph made in a very limited edition. A typical combination from Hublot, the unstoppable watch manufacturers from Nyon.

The Cap-Eden-Roc Hotel is a mythical site on the French Riviera. Perched on the peninsula of Antibes and encircled by the turquoise sea of the Mediterranean, the hotel has been owned by the Oetker Collection group since 1969. The impressive building dates from 1870 and became a hotel in 1889. Later extended, it has always enjoyed an excellent reputation. “A refuge for artists seeking inspiration“, the luxury hotel also counts a large number of celebrities among its guests. A prestige that extends to the luxury lifestyle brand Eden Being, with exclusive objects by designers and craftsmen at work in a range of fields. For watchmaking, the Oetker Collection naturally chose to work with Hublot, the endlessly inspired kings of fusion. From this original partnership has come the Classic Fusion Aerofusion Chronograph Eden Roc model in a limited edition of just 50 pieces and available now on pre-order from the Eden Being website.

The Hublot designers have brought together the aesthetic details from the Cap-Eden-Roc Hotel to provide an accurate interpretation in the new watch. So the Classic Fusion Aerofusion Chronograph Eden Roc features the Mediterranean’s blue colour, half way between azure and turquoise, and also seen in the famous sea-water swimming pool dug out of the rock in 1914. On the sapphire glass dial, the soft colour is shown on the hour markers, the outlines of the totaliser at 9 o’clock, on the hour and minute hands, and on the second hand of the chronograph rounded off by Hublot’s stylised H logo. It extends even to the calf-leather strap with white topstitching and black-rubber inserts. But the references don’t stop there since the metal ring around the second counter at 3 o’clock bears the inscription “Eden-Roc Cap d’Antibes“ and is inspired by the buoy on display near the hotel swimming pool.

The automatic HUB1155 calibre is housed in a 45mm-wide black ceramic case, and powers the time, calendar (the date is at 6 o’clock) and chronograph features, running at 28,800 vibrations an hour and providing 42 hours of power reserve.

Price: 20,000 CHF www.hublot.com

By Sharmila Bertin