In 1976 Carlo Crocco left Breil to create his own company. The brand would initially be named MDM Geneve and the first watch design Crocco created, which took him three years to finish, was named the ‘Hublot’ – which was the French term for ‘porthole’. The design is special for its rubber strap – the first ever natural rubber strap in the to be used on a luxury watch.
Then, in 1980 the new, novelty Hublot was launched at the Baselworld. Although initially met with confusion, the model would go on to be a commercial success, shifting more than $2m worth of units in its first year. With the birth of the Hublot, the first glimpses of this bran;’s signature offbeat style come to the fore.
Some years later, in 2003, Carlo Crocco handed over control of his beloved company, which by then had established itself as an industry leader, to Jean-Claude Biver. This was the man who had transformed both Swiss luxury brandsBlancpain and Omega and reinvented them in the luxury watch game. The following year, Jean-Claude Biver became CEO of Hublot and his first decision was to create a fresh family of luxury watches, which would go on to debut at Baselworld under the moniker ‘the Big Bang’.
Indeed, in April of the following year, the Big Bang chronograph was unveiled. Using high end, contemporary materials and bringing to proceeds a large, bold dial, the Big Bang certainly does what it says on the tin. Indeed, it becomes an overnight success, a hit with collectors and winning a range of awards. Hublot’s orders triple in a single year and the Big Bang wins the highly coveted Design Prize at the 2005 Geneva Watchmaking Grand Prix.
In addition, the Big Bang also gained in the Sports Watch category at Japan’s Watch of the Year ceremony, and wins Best Oversized Watch at Bahrain’s Watch of the Year awards. The following year Hublot’s sales went up from 24m Swiss francs to 100m Swiss francs. Biver soon launched the Classic Fusion models, which took the silhouette and spirit of the Big Bang and brought in the use of exciting fresh materials. Over the following ten years, Hublot went on to expand from the Big Bang idea, making luxury watchmaking a more colourful and audacious pursuit altogether.
Next, Hublot launched the MP Key of Time model in 2011, a new breed of luxury watch that allows the wearer to slow down or speed up time at any given moment. Hublot also launched its Tribute to Antikythera, a watch centered on a calendar from ancient Greece. Indeed, only four of these highly complex watches were ever created, and only two would go on to fetch fees at auction. The remaining watches are now modern classics created by Hublot in a moment of sheer horological folly of the best kind.
During 2011, Hublot became the official watch partner for Ferrari. The following year, Hublot released the MP-05 LaFerrari watch, with a pioneering 50 day power reserve. The MP-05 is the newest in a line of hugely popular Hublot Ferrari watches.
One year later, Hublot released the MP Antikythera, a complex combination of modern watchmaking and retro styling. The MP Antikythera is a simpler version of Hublot’s Tribute to Antikythera. In this rebirth, it is a high end watch still able to give a platform to amazing complications that include star alignment and a calendar. The next year, Hublot launched the next in its LaFerrari line - the MP-05 LaFerrari Titanium Yellow. Equipped with a 11-barrel HUB9005.H1.6 movement, the watch has a huge 50 hours of reserve power, and is equipped with a smaller power tool that serves to set and wind the timepiece.
