Double digits
As Ricardo Guadalupe, CEO of Hublot can attest to, controversy is extremely effective for a new entrant into the haute horlogerie leagues.
“In 2006 when we went to Basel with a Big Bang All Black, we weren’t sure that it would be the incredible commercial success it is today,” he says. “At that time, it was quite shocking to present a watch where you can hardly see the time, where everything is black. We did a limited run of only 250 pieces, realising only later that we could have sold thousands. Ten years later, we have created all sorts of All Black watches and it’s good to see that the concept is still valid today and still very modern.”
The wisdom within Hublot – or rather with Guadalupe and his larger-than-life president of LVMH’s watch division Jean-Claude Biver – was to select a colour as a theme. This freed the brand to be extremely creative in their proposed novelties over time, as they were unrestricted by design mores.
“This year, we have arrived to ten years later and are recreating something All Black; I think that sapphire is a great and innovative idea. Sapphire in the future has great potential, as you can see with white sapphire the idea is of total transparency but we went with blackened sapphire for the Big Bang Unico All Black, which is a great result. This is one step forward in our concept of visible invisibility, everything is black but in the end you can still see.”
With ten years behind the All Black, its future lies in Hublot’s ability to creatively reimagine the All Black. For Guadalupe, continuous critical acclaim however, is in the hands of enthusiasts. “At the end its the market which speaks. The success that we had commercially with these watches is proof that it was a great concept, also the fact that it has been followed by other brands. Before the All Black no one had the courage to create this idea, we are the leaders for this particular execution. It is also thanks to Hublot that the colour black is now accepted as an industry-standard colour.
“The All Black is still very modern but you always have to reinterpret the concept. The Spirit of Big Bang is a tonneau shape and there is of course the incredible LaFerrari while the 2016 All Black is blackened sapphire with a black rubber strap, as you know. If we continue in this manner this we will still do All Black models in the coming years for sure.”
