Gold fever at Hublot

While the Swiss watch brand revisits an 80s trend with its 2022 collection, its CEO Ricardo Guadalupe is also quick to embrace cryptocurrency

The Big Bang Unico Ledger | Photo Credit: Special arrangement

Swiss watch brand Hublot is no stranger to making headlines. Earlier this month, it launched the Big Bang Unico Ledger in partnership with the crypto and digital asset platform. The watch’s high-contrast golden bezel, in Electrum, a natural gold and silver alloy, comes with a limited-edition crypto key that will only be available with the watch. With this new offering, CEO Ricardo Guadalupe once again proves that the brand is on point when wooing a youthful and modern audience.

CEO Ricardo Guadalupe | Photo Credit: Sandro Baebler

This announcement also reiterates what he’d mentioned on a video call at last month’s LVMH Watch Week 2022, “We are of course looking at NFT and cryptocurrency, and addressing [its community]. Many of them have become wealthy in a short period of time and are potential clients.” Let’s not forget that last year, when industry veteran Jean-Claude Biver made news with the first NFT luxury watch to be auctioned, it was a Hublot - the Bigger Bang All Black Tourbillon.

Guadalupe, 56, has had a significant role to play in reviving the brand that is now synonymous with sports masterpieces, innovative materials and brave colour experiments. During the pandemic’s virtual media interactions, he often joined his scientists in their lab at the Nyon manufacture to present to viewers the heating tanks and futuristic equipment used to craft their exceptional sapphire cases, ceramic material and other components. Among LVMH Watch Week’s collections is a Big Bang Unico Golf Orange Carbon with a carbon fibre and orange texalium case and a sapphire case-back. “We are still the leaders in the production of [synthetic] sapphire,” Guadalupe had confirmed then. “We always look for new materials as at Hublot we want to be different from other brands. Traditional brands have existed for hundreds of years in the Swiss matchmaking industry, but we are only 42 years old.”

The Yellow Gold collection | Photo Credit: Special arrangement

Yellow for 2022

Besides the new golf watch, with a golf-stroke counter at 6 o’clock, Hublot began the year on a slim note with three 40mm ‘Time Only’ Big Bang Integrals. However, what caught many a watch critic’s attention was the introduction of yellow gold across its key collections: Big Bang Integral, the Big Bang Unico, the Classic Fusion Chronograph and the Spirit of Big Bang. “We are going back to our roots in a way,” said Guadalupe. “Since I joined Hublot [2004], we have never done a yellow gold watch, just rose gold as that reflected the trend of the time for watches. But I thought it may be the right timing to put out yellow gold as a trend, and chose one model per line. Let’s see how the market will respond.”

Djokovic and gaming

With tennis legend Novak Djokovic on board as brand ambassador, Hublot is working on a watch dedicated to his sport for a 2023-24 launch. And while they are open to partnerships in the gaming segment - as many luxury watch companies are - “you must find the right angle. The big games have a bit of violence so it is difficult to associate yourself with it” is Guadalupe’ response.

While China and the Middle East clearly favour the metal, he added that there has been interest from the United States as well. “Perhaps India will also be keen on it. Our gold production of watches is also quite limited.”

Women buying for themselves

Despite the size, the watches will be hailed by women as well. Like many luxury watch CEOs tracking the growing interest among women watch collectors, Guadalupe agreed that their watches can be worn by both men and women. The pandemic period and online focus has also brought with it many learnings.

Movement update

Guadalupe has always stressed on innovation in movements, which can take between five to eight years, minimum, in development. Last year’s Big Bang Tourbillon Automatic, with the perpetual movements of the micro-rotor set at 12 o’clock, will see an evolution this year. “It is a complication once again, a new construction together with Samuel Ross, our partner in design. But a totally new caliber would be next year, with a new masterpiece.”

“With direct retail, we can track our data and know that many women are buying what was formerly considered men’s models. So at the end the watch becomes ‘no gender,” he said, adding, “Big Bang Time at 40mm can be a ‘no gender’ model for men and women. The women’s market is where we can really grow. Last year, it represented 28% of our sales; we’d gone from 20% to 28% in a few years and hope to grow further.”

The Yellow Gold collection is priced at ₹39.4 lakh onwards, the Big Bang Unico Ledger is priced at ₹21.25 lakh