Innovation – Hublot’s key to success
Hublot, the Swiss luxury watchmaking brand, has Fusion and Innovation as its watchwords. These are celebrated in its iconic collections, the Classic Fusion and the Big Bang. In an exclusive interview, “Day & Night” speaks to ‘the’ Jean-Claude Biver about what makes the brand tick, its collaborations, its awards and its complications
In the year 1980, the world of horology saw the advent of the brand Hublot, founded by Italian Carlo Crocco. The same year saw the unveiling of the Art of Fusion concept by the brand, in which Crocco created an interesting juxtaposition of the precious and the ordinary by combining gold and rubber. Jean-Claude Biver took over as CEO in 2004 and launched the revolutionary chronograph: the Big Bang – a new take on the brand’s Fusion concept.
Earlier this year, at Baselworld 2016, “Day & Night” magazine was able to sit down with Jean-Claude Biver, Chairman of the Board, Hublot, and President of the Watches Division, LVMH Group, for a brief glimpse into the world of Hublot and its remarkable growth. Focus, of course, was on the Big Bang Unico Sapphire Glass, the brand’s latest offering.
When Sapphire Glass watches are being priced for approximately CHF200,000, how is that Hublot managed to release a Big Bang Sapphire for under CHF60,000?
This is mainly because of the production facilities that we have. Hublot is used to working with hard metal like ceramic and magic gold. If you already have the technology for hard metal, how difficult is it to work sapphire?Sapphire is, of course, harder than ceramic but not so much. We consulted with our production team and realised that the problem is that sapphire breaks when polished. Sapphire is not transparent. The transparency of sapphire comes from the polishing; it is like a diamond. You need to cut it and polish and then ‘Wow’, you get the light. So, when we polish, depending on the thickness and all the angles, we have a 40 to 60 percent risk of breaking. So, if we break, let us say, every second piece, the cost will be 50 percent more. If it does not break, it will cost 50 percent less. Every time it breaks, we lose money, not because of the sapphire, but because of the work. And, if it breaks after two-and-half-hour of polishing, we have lost two-and-half-hours and that makes the watch so expensive.
How has the feedback been? Are you planning to bring out a ladies’ version anytime soon?
The response has been so incredible that we are sold out. We have sold 1,500 pieces in three series, 500 pieces each time. As for a ladies’ watch, not yet, because the dimensions that we have presented in sapphire are probably more a man’s watch in size than a ladies’ watch. But we will definitely bring out one for the ladies next year. There’ll be smaller sapphire pieces, in pink, rose, green and other colours.
Last year, you collaborated with Italia Independent and it is still on. How long is this collaboration and how did it start?
There is no fixed timeframe. It is a collaboration that will go on as long as we are both pleased and enjoy working with one another. The relationship that I have with Lapo is not a business relationship; it is one of friendship. He told me one day that his biggest dream would be one day to do something together with me. So we decided to create a watch for Hublot together. The partnership may last ten years or two years. But there will be another Lapo watch next year for sure.
Can you elaborate about your relationship with Berluti?
Our association with Berluti is an incredible one, because the result is just phenomenal. The end result is so luxurious that it is absolutely fantastic. The collaboration will continue. We are already doing a third in the series; there will be many additional Berluti watches in the coming years.
Hublot is literally a pioneer in terms of using unusual materials for casing. What is new this year?
This year, we’ve used a combination of resin and linen. The resin makes it possible for the fibre (linen) to become hard, like carbon.
How important is R&D for a brand like Hublot, which is a pioneer in using so many different materials?
No innovation, no future —that is the best way to describe Hublot. If we don’t innovate, we can close this company. The day we reduce the investment for innovation, the day we are not capable of bringing outstanding innovations, we better sell this business. This business is based on innovation and creativity. This business is based on the concept of ‘first, different, unique’. How can you achieve this if you don’t innovate? You either innovate or you close, there is no choice. This would not apply to other brands. For the other brands, we have a choice as they don’t depend fully on innovation as Hublot does. Innovation is our future.
The Big Bang MECA-10 has the most complicated movement done in-house by Hublot. What is your take on that?
Actually, I believe the most complicated in-house movement that we did is the Unico Chronograph. Making the Chronograph —with that quality, at that price and in those quantities — is just a miracle. We now produce around 25,000 pieces of Unico Chronograph per year and we have not had a single one back for repairs in the guarantee period. That is fantastic and I think is much more difficult than to make 3,000 pieces of Meccano. But the artists will offer a different opinion. I think it is much more difficult to make 20,000 engines that work well rather than a few engines that perform well, because here, we need consistency, quality and quantity.
Was it surprising that the Big Bang Broderie for females won the best award? Were you expecting it?
Yes. Last year, every brand making clothes for women had pieces of broderie. It has made an incredible comeback. As broderie is in fashion, is typically Swiss, and mostly for women, the watch could not be ignored. And as it was the first-ever watch made in broderie, they had to give us the prize. They would have lost their face and their credibility if this watch did not win a prize. Because the other contenders were just watches that were nice, good and had nice shapes, whereas this is a real, technological, fashion statement and it has a touch of Swiss in it. So I was not surprised; I was happy. I would have been surprised not to get the prize.
In the last three-four years, there has been a big boom in sale of women’s watches. Was that planned?
No, it was never planned that way. You can never plan for success fully. Very often, people plan for success, but what they achieve is less. It is very rare that you plan for 100 and reach 100. Usually, you plan for 100 and you reach 80 or 70. To plan for 100 and reach 150 is rare and we cannot say we planned it. The fact is that after ten years, the awareness of a brand is not ten times bigger than the first year, it is 20 times bigger and this is what has happened to Hublot; it is an explosion because it is not proportional. The growth is exponential. This is the reason for our success; provided you are in the market for ten years and can bring novelties that people enjoy. But if you do all of these right for ten years, your results are not just cumulative, it becomes exponential and you reap the result of 20 years.
This was what happened to Hublot. Hublot was growing steadily for seven-eight years and then, suddenly there was rapid growth.This is the advantage for brands that have been here for longer periods, such as 30 years, 100 years, or 160 years. But brands that have been here for longer periods have bad times, so they decline. But if you can maintain 160 years of success like Rolex, it will be phenomenal. In 1960, every brand went down except Rolex. That is why they are so successful. This is why, today, they are the number one.
For you, personally, what is most important in a watch: aesthetics or complication?
The most important things in a watch are quality, substance, authenticity and design. Design must be supported by reality. If the design is supported by illusion, it is a dream. And the design must be solid — meaning quality, reliability, service and performance. You can add complication to all of these, but the base is most important.
Have your expectations from Hublot been met?
It has been much more than I ever dreamt. My expectations from Hublot were way below the reality. So, every day, I thank God for giving me more than my dream. He gave me more than what I prayed for, what I was dreaming of. So I have to stay humble and say, “Thank you” every day. He has already given me so much that I’ll never be able to complain if He gives me less.
