Turning back time the Hublot way
Hublot and UAE partners Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons launched an all-new timepiece on November 22, 2019: The Classic Fusion Special Edition Bronze Anticlockwise. This is Hublot’s first-ever watch made fully from bronze, with a grey dial, and featuring an anticlockwise movement, another first for the watchmaking brand. David Tedeschi – Regional director Latin America & Caribbean, Middle East & Africa – sat down with us on the side lines of the Dubai Watch Week to talk to us of the new watch, the brand’s philosophy, boutiques, and future plans…
Can you tell us about your latest creation that has been launched at Dubai Watch Week?
During Dubai Watch Week, we have launched our newest limited edition, exclusive to Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons; this is a Classic Fusion that we wanted to do differently from other watches in our collection. It is the first Hublot watch that goes anti-clockwise. We decided on bronze as a material because the concept of the watch is to take you back into time, as the watch runs anti-clockwise, and bronze is one of the alloys first created by man. We have also chosen to do the dial in grey, with six indices in Arabic numerals on the dial, also written anti-clockwise.
How did you achieve the aged look on the bronze?
This is a process that we have mastered internally, though I am not sure how it works. There are two reasons we have done this. One is that bronze ages naturally over time; we preferred to do this ourselves to reduce the oxidisation on the material, and in the process of doing this we have also blocked the oxidisation process. This means that the watch will look the same over time and not acquire a different colour or patina due to oxidisation.
What movement have you used for this anti-clockwise watch? And what changes did you make to accommodate this?
We normally use a movement that is used in all of our Classic Fusion collection, but we decided to work with our movement partner to develop a movement that would be 100 per cent exclusive to us. The challenge was that we could not just flip the movement to make it anti-clockwise. The idea was to recreate the upper part of the movement – called the ‘minute heure’ in French – to turning the other way around.
Can you tell us about the making of the watch – from the time the idea to make an anti-clockwise watch was conceived till the time you launched it?
It started when I was sitting in Mohammed’s [Mohammed Abdulmagied Seddiqi – Chief Commercial Officer of Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons] office. This is very funny, because every time I come here, we are brainstorming about what can be done. Mohammed has a very creative mind and he came up with the idea of creating something anti-clockwise. From that time until now when we are presenting this watch at Dubai Watch Week, it must have taken us somewhere from three to five years.
Can you tell us about the newly reopened boutique at The Dubai Mall and the boutique at the Mall of the Emirates?
Our boutique at The Dubai Mall, which we opened in 2015, has been our most-performing boutique in the world every year since its inception. We are selling more than 1,000 watches here every year – an incredible record. We decided to refurbish the boutique as nothing had been changed at The Dubai Mall one in the past four years, and we had changed our boutique concept in 2018 when we opened our boutique in Geneva with a new concept. We decided to renovate both the boutiques here to match our latest boutique concept. We also decided to do something different – the façade of both the boutiques are quite unique, while the interiors match the brand identity that we want to establish across all boutiques. While the Dubai boutiques adhere to our City Boutique concept, we also have other themes such as Mountain Boutiques and Beach Boutiques for other locations. For instance, our latest boutique that will open in Cancun, Mexico, in two months’ time will be a Beach Boutique concept that will incorporate an outdoors seating area – a first for us. We will slowly incorporate these new concepts in our boutiques worldwide.
How many boutiques does Hublot have currently worldwide? And how many in the Middle East?
We have just reached 100 boutiques worldwide. Currently, we have 15 boutiques in the Middle East; by the end of 2020, we will have one more – our fifth – in Saudi Arabia. We will not be adding more boutiques in the near future, as we think this is enough for now. In the Middle East – and only in the region and not globally – boutiques represent 50 per cent of our sales, which is quite a lot. We have 65 points of sales in the Middle East, of which 50 are multi-brand stores, and 15 are boutiques.
Two years ago, you mentioned that you are looking at a target of achieving 45 per cent of your total sales through ladies’ watches and 55 per cent in men’s watches – has this been achieved?
That was definitely targeted at the Middle East, because this is one of the regions in the world where we are selling the most to women. In 2018, we have sold 36 per cent of our watches from the women’s collection, but we have sold 42 per cent of watches in the Middle East to women – this includes women who buy men’s models. This means that we are slowly reaching our target. For us, it is really important to target the women; to arrange some activations for women as well because they are our clients as much as the men are. They are also watch aficionados and that is why we are frequently bringing out limited editions for women nowadays.
Are sapphire watches for ladies as much a success as it is in the men’s line?
Yes, but it is always a challenge to sell an expensive watch – which is not a jewellery watch – to a woman. It is also difficult to sell a woman’s watch in sapphire, but at Hublot our first sapphire offering for women was the Big Bang One Click Sapphire Rainbow 39 mm, which was an extraordinary success. It was a limited edition of 50 pieces and was sold out immediately. Since that was a huge success, we decided to introduce another sapphire edition for ladies in a colour that we had never used before – in light pink sapphire; we also presented a transparent sapphire and a blue sapphire at the same time. The pink sapphire stood out from the others and was quickly sold out. We try to differentiate in our offerings and the women like that aspect of our watches.
Hublot currently produces nearly 95 per cent of all sapphire watches in the high-end watch category; what is your take on this?
I don’t know about that, but we are not the first to launch watches in sapphire. I would say that we are the first to launch watches in sapphire that are affordable for most people. The idea and philosophy behind sapphire watches is the technical complexity of the material. Hublot has been successful in launching different colours in sapphire. We were the first to debut black sapphire, and later blue sapphire. Our latest offering is the SAXEM in green sapphire, which we will launch officially in LVMH week in January 2020. Sapphire is a very difficult and expensive material as it is very complex to create and delicate to work with. We have been able to create green sapphire by adding rare earth minerals in making the sapphire, and the SAXEM looks like an actual emerald on the wrist.
Hublot Classic Fusion Special Edition Bronze Anticlockwise
Hublot and Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons launched the Hublot Classic Fusion Special Edition Bronze Anticlockwise. David Tedeschi, Regional Director for Latin America & Caribbean and Middle East & Africa, and Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons’ Chief Commercial Officer Mohammed Abdulmagied Seddiqi presented the piece to press and collectors during Dubai Watch Week 2019.
Turning back time
Designed and produced at the Hublot Manufacture in Switzerland, the Classic Fusion Special Edition Bronze Anticlockwise turns back time with its 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 o’clock Indian numbers and indexes positioned backwards on the dial, and its hands turning counter-clockwise. The self-winding anticlockwise movement inspires the wearer to take a step back in time and admire the UAE’s impressive path that lead it to its current greatness.
The Art of Fusion in materials: Bronze
Hublot cut its Classic Fusion case out of bronze, a material created over 10,000 years ago through a fusion of copper and other metals such as aluminium, manganese, nickel or zinc. The alloy has the advantages of non-magnetism, resistance to corrosion, and a distinctive appearance through its unmistakable hue. As bronze is covered with a natural patina that protects it and lends it an unparalleled finish, it gives this special edition a beautiful colour that contrasts with the grey dial, which positions its 3N gold-plated appliques in an unusual direction.
An homage to the avant-garde spirit of Hublot, the highly anticipated watch with its grey calf and gold stitched strap is limited to 100 pieces, a collector’s edition that defies the test of time and tradition.
