« Hublot’s strength resides in its very clear identity – the art of fusion – this unique ability to create timepieces which combine tradition and innovation. » Ricardo Guadalupe

Hublot defied every convention in 1980, when Carlo Crocco created the gold Hublot watch with the first natural black rubber bracelet in the history of watch making. It has now become the inspiration for a watch making style famous everywhere.

Its creator, Carlo Crocco, acquired his sense of beauty as a child, growing up in an Italian family of watchmakers. By 1967, he had designed his first watch. In 1980, he set up his own company, MDM Geneva, and sought to produce a watch that would transcend fashion, with an elegant, sporting design that would make it sought after worldwide.

With pure lines, and enormous respect for his chosen materials, he developed an elegant yet sporting watch to wear on any occasion, yet refused to follow the dictates of fashion,. His guiding principle was simplicity, and his look was modelled on a ship’s porthole. Twelve tiny titanium screws secure the lunette to the case, and mark the hours, in a meeting of form and function.

In the mid-90s, rubber captured the interest of renowned watch making brands, as the creations of the time show. This confirmed the validity of the choices that had led to the creation of Hublot watches, and reinforced their status as great classics. For Hublot, rubber wasn’t a fashion phenomenon; it ideally represented a philosophy, a life style and the brand image from day one.

Hublot started one of the last independent family watch making businesses with a unique, mono-product concept, that gave him the total creative freedom required to preserve its personality and expand the range across a spread of collections, some of which include sporting complications. The Hublot’s master craftsmen and their meticulous attention to detail enabled the production of the Limited Series collections, with a wide range of dials in chased enamel and bas-reliefs, or with covers superbly engraved, inset or enamelled, using the most talented artists in each speciality, and making it possible to produce the made-to-measure pieces that now enrich the « Hublot Art Collection ».