Q&AIn Conversation With Hublot CEO Ricardo Guadalupe: The Artist Behind The Art Of Fusion

The ‘Art of fusion’ has led to some exciting collaborations with sports, sportspersons, artists and brands such as Ferrari. Which has been the most exciting one for you?

I would say football and our partnership with it. Because we’ve been with the sport for many years now. We started sponsoring teams from 2006. After that, there was the UEFA Euro 2008 in Switzerland, then the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, and after that the 2014 World Cup, which took place in Brazil. More recently, there was the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Football has allowed us to increase brand awareness and make the brand known all over the world. The football World Cup is the most-watched event in the world; more than the Olympic Games or any other sport. So football has really been an accelerator of brand awareness.

Tell us more about your collaboration with cricket

Cricket has been really interesting. The sport is very important to India, and to Anglo-Saxon countries like Australia, South Africa, England. And again, we were the first watch brand to get into cricket, and it has been a great platform for us when it comes to brand awareness, specifically in India.

Hublot was the first watch brand to work with ICC. Hublot also launched the Classic Fusion Chronograph ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 watch to celebrate the partnership

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Hublot has partnered with many legendary cricketers, including Kevin Pieterson

How different is it as the official timekeeper for the football and cricket World Cups, now that Hublot has associated with both?

As I said, cricket is more specific. But football is more global. I heard that the recent match between India and Pakistan was followed by one billion people. But the football World Cup final was followed by three billion people, around the world. One billion is huge, without a doubt. But 80 percent of these people may have been from India or Pakistan. Which makes it highly specific. So that’s the difference.

Let’s talk Ferrari. The partnership has spanned over eight years now, leading to some astounding and innovative watches. How has this partnership impacted Hublot’s watchmaking aesthetic and mechanics?

On one side, there is our partnership with football. But equally important, on the other side, is our partnership with Ferrari. With Ferrari, it’s more about prestige, rather than brand awareness. We haven’t been the first brand to do a partnership with Ferrari, but we have tried to do it in a different way. And to do it differently, we have worked directly with the Ferrari team itself. So the design team of Ferrari are working with us to create the watches. The biggest example of this is the Classic Fusion Ferrari GT, which is designed by Flavio Manzoni, the head of design at Ferrari, himself. We were together, and we said: let’s create a watch inspired by the world of Ferrari. So I think this has never been done before by any other brand. Before this, brands would just put the Ferrari logo on the dial. That’s it. But that’s not enough today. Today you have to create a watch inspired by the DNA of the brand. So this is where, I think, we have been successful.

"With Ferrari, it’s more about prestige, rather than brand awareness. We haven’t been the first brand to do a partnership with Ferrari, but we have tried to do it in a different way."

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The Classic Fusion Ferrari GT is designed by Flavio Manzoni, the head of design at Ferrari, in collaboration with Hublot

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The Classic Fusion Ferrari GT features the brand's in-house UNICO movement, and is available in three different cases: King Gold, Titanium and 3D Carbon

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The Ferrari GT is a clear departure from the Classic Fusion’s style. Will we be seeing more watches that use the Ferrari-designed case?

This case could be an inspiration for future products. It won’t be the same, because this is a Ferrari model. But it could definitely inspire future models.

The brand has collaborated with numerous artists over the years. What’s the criteria for a specific piece of art to end up in your watches? Do the artists approach Hublot or is it the other way around?

Mechanical watches show the time. But that’s not really necessary anymore. Because we use the phone to check the time more than watches. So we need to create a piece of art within these watches. And to create this, apart from the art of watchmaking, we are also inspired by other forms of art. So I had the idea of collaborating with artists and creating watches that are inspired by their art. The Hublot Big Bang Sang Bleu is inspired by the art of tattooing. The angular Classic Fusion Orlinski is inspired by artist Richard Orlinski. These designs turn wearing a watch into an everyday art form. So I think this is a new way of making watches that is very innovative and very different. And we have noticed that the consumer too is waiting for such watches that are inspired not only by the art of watchmaking but other types of art as well.

The Big Bang Sang Bleu II channels the design skills of world famous tattoo artist Maxime Plescia-Büchi

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A case with finely-chiselled lines is a departure from tradtional Hublot styling, but the watchmaker's DNA is still visibly retained

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When you collaborate with artists, how is the DNA of Hublot retained in the process, despite making such significant structural changes to the cases?

We always have some specific details on the product that are signature Hublot. For example, the screws on the bezel and on the lugs to fix the bracelet. The design of the bezel and screws are normally inspired by the porthole. The origin is the porthole. Hublot actually translates to ‘porthole’ in French. So we always try to keep and mix both, Hublot’s and the artist’s DNA, in the watch.

The Classic Fusion Orlinski series is sculpted in the aesthetic signature of artist Richard Orlinski

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"These designs turn wearing a watch into an everyday art form. So I think this is a new way of making watches that is very innovative and very different."

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According to you, who is the Hublot consumer? What is the kind of person you think connects with the brand’s values and products the most?

The customer of Hublot is a successful person—successful in their professional life, of course. It’s someone who has created that success for themselves; a self-made person. It can be an entrepreneur, an architect, an artist…basically a young, self-made man or woman.

About the new boutique, why was this a good time to open one in India, and not earlier? What are your expectations from this boutique?

We have been present in India for 13 years. We started with a multi-brand presence. But now we are a mature brand in this country. So we believe that Indians know Hublot very well, and we have great relations with NRIs. There are big communities in London, for instance, and we thought that to show that we believe in this country, it was important to have a standalone boutique here. And to have a partner that wants to do the boutique (Ethos), just makes it a win-win approach. Because at the end, it’s also about business. And the location—Palladium, Mumbai—is something that didn’t exist 10 years ago, which shows that this is the right moment.

Hublot opened its first flagship boutique in India, located in the heart of Mumbai at the Palladium Mall, one of the most luxurious shopping locations in the country

"We thought that to show that we believe in this country, it was important to come with a standalone boutique here"

Covering more than 45 square metres, on the ground floor of the mall, this Hublot Boutique exemplifies the brand’s well-known motto, The Art of Fusion

Paying tribute to the art world, the boutique is decorated with pop art paintings inspired by artists around the world

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What according to you are the biggest watch trends that emerged in 2019?

I think it is creating watches that doesn’t only involve the art of watchmaking, but also giving value to the watch through the mechanics. Meaning that in our watches, we don’t have closed dials anymore. We see the mechanics of the movement. The trend is to show the mechanics of the movement. That is the trend for the future. Not only this year but the future.

You’ve been a part of Hublot since 2004. In these 15 years, how has the company changed over the years?

Fifteen years ago, when I started, the brand was very small. We were only 20 people working. Of course, now, after 15 years we are an important part of the Swiss watch industry—among the top five. And now we are close to 800 people. I have been living this adventure. And for me, in a professional aspect, this was unique, to have this kind of an experience. Starting from nothing to becoming one of the most important brands. And these 15 years have been fantastic and have gone by so fast. For me, 15 years ago was yesterday. To live this experience has been unbelievable.