Hublot is a Swiss luxury watch company founded in 1980 by Carlo Crocco and based in Nyon in the canton of Vaud, Switzerland. Currently owned by the LVMH group of companies.
Carlo Crocco grew up in an Italian family of watchmakers. In 1967 he painted his first clock. In 1975, he began producing watches under the brand Marie-Daniel-Montre (his wife’s name) and selling them in Italy. This watch had some similarities to later Hublot models and laid the foundation for MDM.
In 1980, Carlo Crocco created the MDM Geneva company and invented the Hublot watch brand.
Carlo Crocco designed elegant yet sporty watches that could be worn in any situation, but he refused to follow the dictates of fashion. His guiding principle was simplicity rather than the established traditions of the watch industry.
It took three years of research to create a unique bracelet and reveal the exceptional properties of natural rubber. When the two parts of the bracelet touch the wrist of a customer who has just purchased a Hublot watch, they instantly adapt to the hand, creating a unique impression of lightness and comfort. The technology was so successful that the rubber bracelet is still the only one on all Hublot watches, and remains the only option for the future.
In 2004, Carlo Crocco entrusted the reins of the company to Jean-Claude Biver, the former boss of the watch brand Blancpain, to focus on the MDM foundation, which builds orphanages in India. Every year, MDM donates 10% of its profits to charity.
Jean-Claude Biver, appointed General Director of the Board of Directors on May 2, 2004, created a new collection, which was presented in Basel in April 2005. The Big Bang chronograph from this collection received a design award at the 2005 Basel watch fair.
In June 2006, Jean-Claude Biver launched Hublot TV, the first ever Internet television channel created by a luxury brand!
Over the following years, various Big Bang models were developed, which introduced additional functions: tourbillon, large date, power reserve indicator, split second indication.
In February 2007, in Paris, on Rue Saint-Honoré, the Hublot brand opened its first brand store. The second was opened in the summer at the Byblos Hotel in St. Tropez – the Mecca of the world elite.
Along with the Big Bang collection, the company continues to produce Classic watches, which are preferred by about 30% of the brand’s admirers. Because it doesn’t have a chronograph mechanism, it’s slimmer, more traditional and discreet in appearance. The number of pieces produced in 2007 was 24,000 watches.
The beginning of 2008 was marked by the launch of the first Big Bang model, designed specifically for women.
In 2008, the Hublot brand developed skis together with ski manufacturer Zai. The skis were covered with vulcanized natural rubber, the same type used to make Hublot bracelets. 111 pairs of these skis were produced.
In April 2008, the LVMH group of companies, which unites several world-famous luxury manufacturers, buys the Hublot brand for approximately 250 million euros.
In January 2014, Jean-Claude Biver was appointed president of the watch division of the LVMH group of companies.
In September 2015, Hublot expands production. With the opening of the second building of the plant, Hublot’s production capacity doubles. The construction cost was 20 million Swiss francs.
