Hublot History

By visiting our Hublot Catalogue you can see the models that we have currently in stock. The current Hublot collection includes:

• Big Bang 41 mm: Ceramic, Red Gold, Stainless Steel, Steel Chocolate PVD
• Big Bang 44 mm: Ceramic, Ceramic And Stainless Steel, Ceramic And Tantalum, Ceramic and White Gold, Platinum, PVD Chocolate Stainless Steel, Red Gold, Red Gold and Ceramic, Stainless Steel, Stainless Steel and Ceramic, Tantalum
• Big Bang King 48 mm: Palladium, Red Gold
• Bigger Bang 44 mm: Ceramic, Platinum, Red Gold, Tantalum
• Classic 28 mm: Gold, Stainless Steel, Stainless Steel and Gold
• Classic 32 mm: Gold, Stainless Steel, Stainless Steel and Gold, Stainless Steel With Diamonds
• Classic 36 mm: Gold, Stainless Steel, Stainless Steel and Gold, Stainless Steel With Diamonds
• Classic 41 mm: Pink Gold, Stainless Steel, Stainless Steel and Gold, Stainless Steel and Pink Gold, Stainless Steel With Diamonds
• Classic 42 mm: Chronograph, PVD Black and Caoutchouc, Red Gold, Stainless Steel, Stainless Steel and Caoutchouc, Stainless Steel and Gold, Stainless Steel and Red Gold
• Tourbillon Big Date: Ceramic, Platinum, Red Gold
• Tourbillon Solo Bang: Ceramic, Platinum, Red Gold

In 1980, Carlo Crocco created the Hublot watch in gold fitted with the first natural black rubber strap in the history of watch making. It has now become the pioneering inspiration for a celebrated style of watch making on all levels.

The magnificent porthole-shaped watch case with its combination of polished and brushed metal and minimalist black dial became the perfect showcase for Hublot's inimitable natural black rubber strap. The unique Hublot watch was born.

Members of royal families immediately showed their enthusiasm for Hublot and were soon followed by a large number of celebrities the world over. Carlo Crocco had taken an enormous risk, but in just a few years, the Hublot watches joined the elite and prestigious circle of leading watch-making brands. It took 3 years of research to create this unique strap and reveal the remarkable properties of natural rubber, which seemingly regenerates in daily contact with the skin. The two halves comprising it are placed on clients' wrists and tailored to fit at the time of purchasing their Hublot watch, adapting instantly to their contours with softness and ease and offering the wearer unique, unparalleled comfort.

In the mid-90s, rubber became the focus of interest for the top watch making brands, as is clearly shown by their creations. This proved the validity of the choice that led to the creation of Hublot watches and strengthened their status as a great Classic. For Hublot, rubber is not a fashion phenomenon, but the perfect embodiment of its philosophy, a lifestyle and brand image statement from day one. Hublot remains one of the last independent family-run watch making businesses with a unique mono-product concept. Driven by total creative freedom, Hublot was able to preserve its unique personality and extend its range to include a vast array of collections, some featuring sports complications. Hublots consummate mastery in the field, together with its impeccable attention to detail, has led to a number of Limited Edition collections. Carlo Crocco, preoccupied by his own design work and many activities for the Hand-in-Hand Foundation, a charity helping deprived children all around the world, set out to look for the man who could steer the helm of his watch making business.

In late 2003, Jean-Claude Biver decided to take a year out to reset the hands of time and have a little rest. But this man is a stranger to rest. It was then that he met Carlo Crocco. A current of electricity flowed between them immediately.

In May 2004, Jean-Claude Biver assumed his duties as CEO, becoming a board member and minority shareholder in Hublot watches, his head filled with remarkable plans for the company's development. Jean-Claude Biver is one of those rare men who have genuinely left their mark on Swiss watch making. He was born in Luxembourg on 20th September 1949 and his family moved to Switzerland when he was 10 years old. He arrived in Le Brassus with a degree tucked under his belt and the Joux valley, birthplace of fine watch making, was soon to have a deep impact on his life. He fitted in immediately, living near a farm that, years later, was to become the Blancpain headquarters. He married in the valley in 1979. Jean-Claude Biver assiduously honed his skills after 1975 when he joined Audemars Piguet, followed by Omega, where he remained until 1981. That year, he and his friend, Jacques Piguet, took over the dormant Blancpain brand. Ten years after its creation, the company was flourishing. In order to protect the company and allow it to develop harmoniously, the two partners decided to sell up. Nicolas Hayek and the Swatch Group bought out Blancpain in 1992, but Jean-Claude Biver remained its managing director and retained a seat on the Swatch groups steering committee until the end of 2003.

Under the leadership of its new CEO, Hublot reinvented its DNA by going back to its roots: Jean-Claude Biver relaunched the "Fusion" concept, the Fusion of sometimes unlikely materials such as gold and ceramic, tantalum and pink gold, and even magnesium and titanium, and the Fusion between the Swiss Watch making Tradition and the Watchmaker's Art in the 21st century, all the while preserving the unique, timeless design of Hublot watches. In less than a year, Jean-Claude Biver succeeded in the challenge by setting up a new collection that was presented in Basel in April 2005, with the Hublot "Big Bang" chronograph, a perfect illustration of the Fusion concept! It was an immediate success and the orders increased threefold in one year. A few months later, in November 2005, the Big Bang chronograph got its career off to a hot start by scooping a number of tributes in the shape of International Prizes: the prestigious "2005 Design Prize" in the "Geneva Watch making Grand Prix" was one such notable achievement, followed by the "Sports Watch Prize" at the "Watch of the Year" ceremony in Japan, and the Middle Eastern Prize for the "Best Oversized Watch" at the Editor’s Choice "Watch of the Year" in Bahrain.

For two years following this impressive string of awards, the Big Bang model was produced in various versions adorned with watch making complications: Tourbillon, Large Date, Power Reserve Indicator and Fly-back hand. The Fusion concept was pushed to the max in the search for unusual materials and combinations between them, and new alloys. The model came in a choice of two sizes: 41 or 44 mm. In 2007, a new Diver's Big Bang came into being to add the third size to the range: the Big Bang King was given an oversized case measuring 48 mm, but it adapted remarkably well to small and large wrists alike!
Hublot owns two subsidiaries, one in the United States and the other in Japan. It continues to produce "Classic" watches in parallel to the Big Bang collection. Around 30% of clients prefer the "Classic" line. The number of pieces produced stood at 24,000 in 2007 and is estimated to reach 30,000 in 2008. In terms of performance, the figures speak for themselves. With the arrival of Jean-Claude Biver in 2004, the brand's sales hit 24 million Swiss francs. By the end of 2006, sales has already quadrupled to border on the 100 million Swiss franc mark… a target that had been set for 2008!

The brand has seen blistering growth since the arrival of Jean-Claude Biver and forecasts show sales of 150 million for the end of 2007 and 220 million for 2008. As for human resources, recruitments have nearly doubled to settle at 70 employees. A new manufacture is planned for the beginning of 2009. Jean-Claude Biver defines it as "a concentration in diversity". In other words going where the potential clientele can be found. He invests in sponsoring operations and partnerships in various fields. Mainly sailing and the nautical world through its partnership with the highly prestigious Monaco Yacht Club (YCM), presided over by H.R.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco, the Real Club Nautico de Palma and its "Hublot PalmaVela" regatta with the Wally boats, and with Luna Rossa in the America Cup 2007. In the world of football, Jean-Claude Biver was the first to add a luxury brand to the pool of other sponsors, a masterstroke made even more remarkable by the fact that the next European championship, Euro 08, is to be held in Switzerland and Austria.

In June 2006, Jean-Claude Biver founded his own television channel on the web, Hublot TV, the first ever channel to be founded by a luxury brand! The TV team compiles and broadcasts news about the Hublot universe.In February 2007, Hublot opened its first mono-brand store in Paris, in the Rue Saint-Honoré. The second was opened in the summer, in the Hôtel Byblos, Saint-Tropez, glamour spot and Mecca for the jet set. The brand's extraordinary dynamism, the highly contemporary, singular design of its watches and its credibility in terms of watch making know-how make its product, the Big Bang, one of the most sought-after in the market.