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All you need is Love
Baselworld

All you need is Love

Wednesday, 26 March 2014
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Christophe Roulet
Editor-in-chief, HH Journal

“The desire to learn is the key to understanding.”

“Thirty years in journalism are a powerful stimulant for curiosity”.

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3 min read

Love is in the air for Jean-Claude Biver, Chairman of Hublot, or rather love of a job well done as a condition for lasting success. Which is exactly his wish for the watches that leave the brand’s workshops, including the year’s new launches, unveiled at Baselworld.

When Jean-Claude Biver takes the stage as Chairman of Hublot and, more to the point, the only person to have catapulted three watch brands to global fame, the entire audience sits up and listens. Particularly in this special year of world-class sport. After claiming four medals at the Sochi Winter Olympics thanks to ambassadors Dario Cologna (cross-country skiing) and Maria Höfl-Riesch (alpine skiing), the brand is warming up for the forthcoming football World Cup in Brazil, where it will do the honours as official timekeeper. Jean-Claude Biver and Chief Executive Ricardo Guadalupe were at the opening of Baselworld to fill in the details with a message that never fails to deliver, in three points.

Winner takes all

Hublot has no intention of playing the also-rans. Clearly not a believer in the old journalism maxim, “better right than first”, the brand is proud to be stationed at the vanguard of watchmaking. Take football, for one example. “Hublot was involved in football as early as 2006 as partner to the Swiss national squad,” Ricardo Guadalupe reminded the audience. “We were the first luxury brand to set the ball rolling, so to speak. Since then we’ve teamed up for collaborations with prestigious clubs and with the Fédération Internationale de Football Association which is organising the upcoming World Cup in Brazil. Choosing football has been a fabulous catalyst for the brand.” Needless to say, Hublot’s new communication campaign focuses squarely on the beautiful game.

Ricardo Guadalupe, CEO of Hublot
Tradition and innovation

As Jean-Claude Biver never tires of reminding us, there can be no future without innovation. “I truly believe that innovation is a more powerful vector than knowledge,” he declared. “Innovation is how we build the future whereas knowledge is an accumulation of past wisdom, although we must remember that innovation is vital to our future lives but cannot be envisaged without complete mastery of tradition.” Putting words into action, Hublot will build on these two fronts as it continues to break new ground. Illustrating this, Jean-Claude Biver chose the example of the Classic Fusion Cathedral Tourbillon Minute Repeater. This new timepiece is, in the Manufacture’s words, “a marvellous balance between the classic style of its two major complications, a symbol of watchmaking art, and the dynamic, modern design of the Classic Fusion 45 mm. It is a fine exercise in style that demonstrates the principle of fusion between Tradition and Modernity.”

Mechanical watches that are crafted with love and passion are made to last.
Jean-Claude Biver
The power of love

After foresight and innovation, next up was love, Jean-Claude Biver’s new credo. “If we consider those companies whose staff are motivated by the same love for the products that come out of their workshops, it’s easy to see that most of the time their efforts are crowned with success. And success is the key to longevity, particularly in watchmaking. Mechanical watches that are crafted with love and passion are made to last because we can always take care of them, and have them repaired if that’s what they need. They are, in a way, eternal. Could this be why Hublot, a successful business, attracts people who also enjoy success? The answer has nothing to do with any marketing message but something far more profound; a positive vibe, the reason we are unique.” Hublot really is “a brand for life” judging by the multitude of fans for whom this “Biverian” philosophy strikes a chord.

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