Fake watches: Hublot pushes the limits again this in terms of incorporating new materials into watchmaking – creating a model made entirely of sapphire – right down to the bracelet – and introducing a bright yellow ceramic. It’s all part of staying ahead in R&D, when some of his own initiatives have become commonplace in the industry. We interviewed its CEO Ricardo Guadalupe.
“We said it at the launch of Brilliant Red Ceramics three years ago: almost every Pantone color is within reach on our ceramics.” Hublot boss Ricardo Guadalupe did not hide his satisfaction at the presentation of the new bright yellow Big Bang Unico Yellow Magic, which required two years of research and development. Moving away from the understated retro trends that have taken over many manufacturers, Hublot is redoubling its efforts to create new products that have their own eye-catching charm.
In addition to the bright yellow ceramic, the brand also presents a model made entirely of sapphire (including the bracelet), and another completely set with diamonds. In fact, when you are not content with reissuing icons of the past, the challenge is to keep innovating, at the risk of being outdone, when it comes to material research and bold designs, by the competition. It is this perpetual race for innovation that we wanted to discuss with Ricardo Guadalupe.
When you’re not reissuing the same icons of the past, the challenge is that you have to constantly innovate.
Europa Star: In 2021, they continue to experiment with materials such as sapphire and Yellow Magic ceramics. Can this line of materials research, so specific to Hublot fake, be exploited indefinitely?
Ricardo Guadalupe: We started experimenting with certain materials very early. These included ceramics, with our All Black model in 2006 making quite an impression. But we are no longer the only ones; many other brands, including some of the biggest ones, have followed us down this path. Since then, ceramic has become an increasingly popular material in watchmaking. To continue differentiating ourselves, we have taken a new path with brightly colored ceramics. And there is still a lot to do in that direction…
What were the main challenges in the development of bright yellow pottery?
When it comes to darker colors like navy blue or army green, the challenge is less than with bright colors. The first color that comes to mind is bright red: this was undoubtedly the most difficult to achieve because it was the first bright color that we interpreted in ceramics, with our Red Magic, which we introduced in 2018. We work with very high temperatures and pressures. high, fake watches and there is always the risk of burning the pigments. With this bright red, we really learned a lot and it allowed us to apply those lessons to other bright colors, including Yellow Magic today.
“To continue differentiating them, we are taking a new path: innovation with brightly colored ceramics.”
Do you have other colors in the project?
We have other plans in the pipeline, including a bright orange. But it is important to know that it takes an average of two years to develop a new colored pottery; that is the time it takes to find the right tone and industrialize the research. Especially with bright colors, small defects can be generated at different times in the manufacturing process. This is a constant challenge, but one that makes Hublot the leading brand in colored ceramics.
They are also using blue, white and gray ceramics in a new Big Bang series in collaboration with Swiss tattoo artist Maxime Plescia-Büchi (Sang Bleu)…
To differentiate ourselves, we must try to offer best replica watches that can be polarizing: that is the vocation of our brand. Whether with this Big Bang Sang Bleu II or the Classic Fusion recently created with Japanese artist Takashi Murakami, inspired by his symbol of the animated flower, we are trying to achieve the perfect fusion between art and watchmaking, to better achieve the art of watchmaking. watchmaking.
These collaborations go a long way, starting from the very conception of the models, which is not “cosmetic”. In the end, these models are works of art in themselves. And there is strong customer demand for this kind of uncompromising design – I have to admit I have been surprised by its commercial success myself!
They are also using blue, white fake watches and gray ceramics in a new Big Bang series in collaboration with Swiss tattoo artist Maxime Plescia-Büchi (Sang Bleu)…
To differentiate ourselves, we must try to offer fake watches that can be polarizing: that is the vocation of our brand. Whether with this Big Bang Sang Bleu II or the Classic Fusion recently created with Japanese artist Takashi Murakami, inspired by his symbol of the animated flower, we are trying to achieve the perfect fusion between art and watchmaking, to better achieve the art of watchmaking. watchmaking.
These collaborations go a long way, starting from the very conception of the models, which is not “cosmetic”. In the end, these models are works of art in themselves. And there is strong customer demand for this kind of uncompromising design – I have to admit I have been surprised by its commercial success myself!
Apart from these very specific models, they participate in “mass” sponsorship through football. How do you reconcile these two very different facets?
Using both with good results. On the football side, we are more concerned with brand recognition than with specific models: it is about global awareness, about getting the Hublot name into people’s minds. On the other hand, through collaborations like Takashi Murakami’s, we can reach new collectors.
Vintage is popular: the trend is dominating the watch scene and seducing the younger generation. That’s not necessarily good news for Hublot’s watchmaking style…
You are definitely not going to see Hublot riding the vintage bandwagon! Even if we wanted to, we really couldn’t because of our relatively recent history. I don’t think history can really be repeated, and it’s not our calling anyway. We have only produced one reissue, that of our first model, to celebrate the brand’s 40th anniversary last year. And even then it wasn’t an exact replica of the Classic Original, precisely because we don’t like nostalgia.
That would not be the correct approach for Hublot. We follow our own destiny, which is to constantly try to reinvent watchmaking through our innovations in materials but also in mechanics. Revealing the movement is more than ever a part of the perceived value of a watch today. But in the end, everyone can have their own vision!
“You certainly won’t see Hublot riding the vintage bandwagon! We have only produced one reissue, that of our first model, for the brand’s 40th anniversary last year. And even then it wasn’t an exact replica.”
Another technical challenge this year concerns another material that is gaining in popularity: sapphire. They use it for the case and bracelet of the Big Bang Integral Tourbillon Full Sapphire, aptly named…
In fact, there is no compromise with this model: the material “takes possession” of the piece, the sapphire itself drives the design of the watch. In 2016, we recorded a milestone by launching the Big Bang Unico Sapphire, our first sapphire watch. For this new development, Hublot completely reworked the case of the new Big Bang Integral Tourbillon Full Sapphire to accommodate the automatic tourbillon movement.
The case is made up of no fewer than 37 components, five of which are made solely of sapphire. The goal was to remove almost all of the visible screws fake watches and revise the overall geometry of the case to integrate with the sapphire bracelet.
The bracelet is also a complex challenge: it consists of only 165 components, and the watchmakers used sapphire to create 22 of them. Of particular note are the titanium inserts we have developed, which are ultra-thin to ensure they do not protrude from the sides of each link on the bracelet. It is a piece of high technology, the result of a very complex process.
“In the Big Bang Integral Tourbillon Full Sapphire, the material itself ‘takes possession’ of the piece.”
Like ceramics, more and more brands are using sapphire… Is that what has forced them to promote the exercise of integrating this material so far?
We continue to be leaders in the industrialization of this material
because we started before the others and therefore we have more experience. As with ceramics, sapphire research continues to constantly evolve, even if,
with this piece, I think we are approaching the pinnacle of our art… We were also the first to offer orange sapphire earlier this year with the Big Bang Tourbillon Automatic Orange Sapphire. It’s natural for others to follow us – but we don’t want them to overtake us!
These models, whether disruptive in design, materials, or mechanics, also serve to illustrate our R&D capabilities. By definition, its production is limited, although we could certainly sell more. For example, we produced 200 Classic Fusion Takashi Murakami fake watches uk. We could have sold almost ten times as many,
but we want to maintain a sense of rarity and perceived value. All of our Classic Fusion models, which make up a large part of our sales,
benefit commercially from this ripple effect.
How do you see the distribution of fake watches in a post-Covid future? It no longer seems to be a problem to buy parts online that cost tens of thousands of francs…
E-commerce is really picking up steam, especially after we blocked 80% of global logistics last year. We launched our own e-commerce platform in July 2020, but online sales are still limited at this time. The idea was to be able to be in contact with our customers. We are on a learning curve in terms of creating a good online customer experience; it is not enough to show a picture of your watch with a price. Also, we still need to develop our physical store network, especially in Mainland China.
