The 13th “Time to Meet” meeting was an excellent opportunity to learn more about the short but rich history of the Hublot Replica manufacture and its current collection of timepieces, including the flagship Big Bang chronograph.
When writing about young watchmaking brands, we often mention that in an industry that has been operating for hundreds of years, the age of several dozen years is almost infantile. Hublot was founded in 1980 by Carlo Crocco from Italy – so it is just over 40 years old. At the beginning, the company’s concept was simple, clear and… at least bold – to create a luxury watch in a gold case and pair it with a non-luxurious rubber strap. At that time, such an exotic combination seemed (and in fact turned out to be) excessive extravagance, but Hublot introduced it to showrooms thanks to its new CEO, Jean Claude-Biver. The charismatic Luxembourger promoted the brand, along with its motto – “Art of Fusion”. The fusion, consisting of the above-mentioned mixture of gold (or other metals) and rubber, was first presented in the Big Bang model presented at the Baselworld fair in 2005. Its characteristic case, bezel imitating a ship’s porthole and the materials used quickly became the hallmark of the brand, which over time transformed into a full-fledged manufacture. Today, Hublot is one of the leading players in the luxury sports watch segment, with particular emphasis on extraordinary materials and avant-garde design.
Guests invited to the “Time to Meet: Hublot” meeting had the opportunity to learn about Hublot’s current offer on the example of several models, including the most classic, original Big Bang of the J.C. era. Biver. Jules Bolle, Marketing Manager for Eastern Europe and Scandinavia, introduced the watches and the brand’s philosophy. The time was enriched by wines selected by Piotr Kamecki (Vice-President of the International Sommeliers Association) and cuisine by Martin Gimenez Castro. The partner of the evening was W. KRUK, the official representative of the Hublot brand in Poland, represented by Tomasz Kotula (Director of the Watch Department), Marzena Trejnis (Senior Product Manager) and Michał Kostrzyński (Key Account Manager).
Among the Hublot watches presented to the guests of the event, two models from the Big Bang collection were particularly popular – two very different timepieces, perfectly showing the company’s capabilities. The Big Bang Meca-10 in a blue ceramic case has long been the favorite watch of Novak Djokovic, Hublot brand ambassador. The large watch – Ceramic Blue 45 mm version – has a skeletonized, manually wound mechanism with a 10-day power reserve.
In turn, Big Bang Integrated Black Magic was the manufacturer’s response to the trend for sports watches with a bracelet. Hublot went its own way and instead of classic steel, it used technologically advanced ceramics, in the production of which the brand has extensive experience. Measuring 42 mm, the timepiece retains the classic, slightly refreshed form of the Big Bang model, combined with a ceramic, comfortable bracelet. The case houses Hublot’s in-house star – the UNICO caliber with a chronograph. In our opinion – and this was shared by the invited guests – one of the most pleasantly operating mechanical stopwatches on the market.
