Europa Star: How do you organise innovation at Hublot?

Julien Tornare: Innovation is embedded in Hublot’s DNA. I was lucky enough to meet Mr. Crocco, Hublot’s founder, and was struck by how disruptive the brand has always been, right from the very beginning, pairing rubber with gold, early research into sapphire and new materials, etc. This culture has been passed on and made stronger over the years. Now, we’re the only ones producing certain parts in sapphire entirely in-house. We also have unique expertise in ceramic and for our MP models.

I’ve set up an innovation committee that meets once a fortnight, with people from the technical teams – including Matthias Buttet – as well as marketing so that from the embryonic stage, we consider innovation organically, coherently and transversally. We’ve rationalised too, with fewer disparate directions and stronger focus on what contributes real horological substance.

After the success of the MP-16 Arsham Droplet transformable pocket watch, the Hublot MP-17 MECA-10 Arsham Splash Titanium Sapphire is a sculpture for the wrist. Each curve is a reflection of Daniel Arsham’s creative vision. The compact 42mm case size was made possible thanks to the integration of Hublot’s new and smaller Meca-10 in-house manual-winding movement, visible through the dial opening and the sapphire caseback.

You often say innovation is part of Hublot’s role in watchmaking. How does that play out?

Many of today’s brands have barely changed from twenty years ago. That’s not our roadmap. We’re here to move the needle. How many brands would dare launch something like the MP-17 Arsham Splash, with that shape, in sculpted sapphire? At Hublot, innovation isn’t just about materials: it’s a mindset. Nor do we always get the credit we deserve for our movements, even though our Unico and Meca-10 calibres are multi-patented mechanisms with real technical depth. We aim to go on improving them and cement our credibility as watchmakers. We’ve only been around 45 years, compared with others that are 250 years old. It’s remarkable how much we’ve achieved in so little time.

Hublot Big Bang Titanium Grey Ahmed Seddiqi 75th Anniversary

What are your most promising lines of research?

We keep pushing the boundaries in materials innovation, with sapphire in all its forms, next-gen ceramics, composites, but also more organic, quasi sculptural approaches. We’re also working hard on refining our horological content by miniaturising certain movements and developing new architectures.

The Arsham Splash is a perfect example. By reducing the size of our Meca-10 calibre, we created a 42mm watch that is a wearable sculpture, inspired by flowing water. We had to rethink everything to produce these organic lines in sapphire, titanium and rubber. As an object, it’s completely different from Hublot’s usual shapes but speaks the same language, with the six H screws, the case construction and the aesthetic signatures. Like Hublot, it’s a fusion of art, technology, watchmaking and a disruptive attitude.

And this is just the beginning. Next year we’ll be revisiting the Classic Fusion, going back to Mr. Crocco’s Italian origins, in a 1980s but at the same time ultra-contemporary style. Plus we have some incredible MPs in the pipeline, for women in particular. Innovation is ongoing and we’re not about to slow down.

Ready for winter, Hublot introduces the Big Bang Unico Winter Sapphire and the Big Bang Unico Winter Titanium Ceramic.