Small Talk RICARDO GUADALUPE
Hublot’s CEO shares his views on the future of the watch industry
You’ve launched a lot of novelties in yellow gold. Do you predict yellow gold will become a trend in watchmaking?
At Hublot, we want to be leaders in the trends of our industry. We’ve done it several times before; for instance, with ceramic. We were the first, really, to bring in ceramic, in 2006, and now I would say that the whole watch industry has a black watch or at least uses ceramic material. Yellow gold was used when Hublot was founded in 1980, when we launched the classic watch in yellow gold with a rubber strap. Now everybody is using rose gold, but in watchmaking, trend cycles last a bit longer than in fashion, up to maybe 10 to 15 years; we believe this is the right time for yellow gold. That’s why we’ve come out with one new yellow gold model per collection. We will see; the market and the consumer will decide.
What other trends do you predict will take the industry by storm?
We believe there is a trend for smaller watches. Around eight to ten years ago, we were working with large models, around 48mm in diameter, but for men’s model we are now looking at 42mm. We even decided to go to 40mm because not only do we see men buying models in this size, but also women who have perhaps gone from smaller watches to bigger watches. We’re also seeing thinner pieces because they’re lighter on the wrist.
Which Hublot novelty are you wearing today?
I’m currently wearing the Hublot Classic Fusion Titanium. The lightness of the watch is really incredible: you really don’t feel it on the wrist, which I think is really important today. It used to be that luxury watches needed to be really heavy, but now luxury watches need to showcase technology and be lightweight due to the use of hi-tech materials. Even though ceramic is probably more Hublot in DNA, I prefer the titanium model.
Inspired by one of Patek Philippe’s archival models from the 1940s, the Reference 5930, which was introduced in 2016, combines two complications— chronograph and world timer. The 5390P, a more recent iteration, joins the existing white gold 5930G in a platinum avatar, with a vibrant bottlegreen dial and crocodile leather straps, powered by a Calibre CH 28-250 HU movement. What’s more, the dial displays a detailed hand-guilloched pattern—an example of the maison’s mastery. Expect some green-eyed glances when you sport this.
Patek Philippe Reference 5930P