Hublot unveiled its latest offerings during LVMH Watch Week 2024 in Miami at the end of January. Hublot’s new watches include colourful Classic Fusion Orlinski editions, an emerald-green Big Bang Unico Saxem, and two rainbow-coloured Spirit of Big Bang jewellery watches. We speak to Ricardo Guadalupe, CEO of Hublot, about the marque’s fascination with colours and shapes
Can you first tell us about the collaboration with Orlinski that started in 2017; why did you pick Orlinski?
The idea around the Arts partnership is to be able to really be inspired by the art and the artist, and to be able to put it into a watch. I would say a painting is more difficult. Just to do a dial representing the painting is not enough, but sculpture has so much potential; all those facets that Orlinski uses on his sculptures, as in the Wild Kongs, Pompom Bears or the Lions. It is really something that inspired me; to be able to imagine a watch having those facets of Orlinski on the case and even on the dial. I thought it would be a strong fusion between his art and our art, and the result has been quite amazing.
Where did you first see Orlinski’s sculptures or art pieces and when?
I saw them for the first time in Saint-Tropez during the summer of 2016, I met him in the gallery. Of course, we also need a good relationship. Human relationships are very important, and I found that he is a guy who is also passionate about watches. He loves watches, and he has great ideas. So, the vibe was really good.
We know that you gave Orlinski complete freedom in case design; were there any issues with that decision?
No, he has a good sense and feeling about watches; to create a watch is not easy because it is a very small volume and area. He had a lot of ideas; we didn’t do everything he wanted but he participates strongly and even today is in contact directly with our designers to enable new ideas for the future.
The two new Orlinski watches come in bright yellow and sky blue; why these two particular colours?
We have done many editions with him. It is a very commercial partnership because with him we have done almost thousands of watches, unlike with Murakami, for instance, where we are talking more in hundreds. Till date, we have done many materials and he wanted to have some bright colours, but he wanted them to be very exclusive. That’s why we choose a tourbillon in this case, and he decided to make it a limited edition.
The first Unico Saxem came in neon yellow; now, this strong deep green colour. Was it difficult for the brand to get that kind of deep colour on sapphire?
Yes, it was quite difficult. It is called Saxem because it is not exactly sapphire; the chemical formula of the raw material is a bit different to enable this green emerald colour and it has taken quite some time. Because every time we grow the raw material, it takes two to three months just to get the raw material, and after that, we still have to work on it. It was a long development process that took between 2-3 years of development to get this colour.
So, this watch was originally conceived 2-3 years ago?
Pretty much, yes. We are always working on something; we try to create colours and we can see the results only after some time; we were able to get the yellow before the orange and this took some time as well.
The new Green Saxem comes with calibre HUB1280 Unico movement. How does this new movement compare to the previous movement?
We created the Unico movement from scratch in 2008 and we launched it in 2011. It took 3-4 years to develop the first Unico and then to create a chronograph movement. It is quite complicated, even more so for the tourbillon. We saw some weaknesses in the first Unico in terms of reliability, and so we decided to evolve and reconstruct the movement, for more quality. That is why we decided to have a second version as we were not satisfied by the first one.
The MP line of watches have become a fusion of design, materials, and horology; was it always the plan for the MP line to be a fusion of different arts?
The idea of the MP line is to show our know-how, our ability to create complicated watches, and to try to be really disruptive and different than the traditional brands. Because we are a young brand, we have to create in a different way, so we created this concept of giving freedom to our constructors, creators, and designers. To be able to go out-of-the-box and to show our innovation and creativity through those Manufacture Piece or MPs. The idea is really to show that Hublot is a strong brand with a lot of know-how and that we are comparable to any other storied brand.
The MP-10 Tourbillon Weight Energy System has a unique oscillating weight system; can you tell us how does that work exactly?
We tried to reinvent the self-winding system; the idea is to be vertical and to have vertical weights that can move with the wrist. When you wear the watch, every movement you make rewinds the barrel. It is a patented system that is quite complicated to realise, but the idea is that even with amortisation, there is enough energy for the watch to operate. Every movement of the wearer will wind the movement. I am not watchmaker, but the idea was to reinvent this self-winding system.
The watch has a 48-hour power reserve. There is a tourbillon and the discs that tell the time, and the power reserve indicator. There is a lot of movement there and the Weight Energy system kind of recuperates energy. We have put this big crown here; in case you see that there is not enough energy, you can still wind the crown just two or three times to input the charge. It is a little bit like a hybrid system for a car. You normally use the electric, but if you need a bit more power you can do It yourself.
The main part of the front is the sapphire; was it difficult to get that unique shape?
Yes, it was very difficult as this sapphire glass has been the most difficult shape to manufacture because it goes all over the watch.
A couple of years ago Hublot unveiled the Big Bang Square and now we are seeing many more editions of the Big Bang Square. Will it be one of your main lines?
We have 3 pillars already; the Big Bang, of course, is our main pillar. Then, we have the Classic Fusion, which is very important commercially, and what we call the Shaped collection. In this, right now, we have the tonneau-shaped Spirit of Big Bang and the Square Bang. Tomorrow we may perhaps have a rectangle or an oval watch. The Shaped collection is a pillar. The idea is to have this equilibrium of our output as 1/3 Big Bang, 1/3 Classic Fusion and 1/3 the Shaped collection.
