Place Vendôme, Paris, 20 November 2024. Nearly 20 years ago, we were in this very place, at the same time of the year, with Jean-Claude Biver, who had just taken the reins at Hublot. He switched on the illuminations of the famous Parisian square – a ritual sadly lost to time.
We all know what happened next: the meteoric rise of the Nyon manufacture. And that’s perhaps what’s most surprising. Making a splash, as the Big Bang did 20 years ago, is one thing. Maintaining the same level of impact for two decades, with the same rebellious and innovative spirit, is quite another. The piece revealed by Hublot with Novak Djokovic in Paris is a masterstroke that encapsulates this exceptional continuity.
Two men and a watch
It is the result of a series of judicious decisions, taken at the right time, by the right people. First, the choice of ambassador: Novak Djokovic. He’s not just a tennis player: he is a universal man, a brand unto himself. It’s not enough simply to reel off his 24 Grand Slam titles: Novak has already gone beyond that. And yet, rarely has such a stratospheric champion managed to remain so accessible. On 20 November, he was exactly the same person he was off the tennis court: smiling, relaxed, indulging every selfie request with unwavering kindness.
But the success of the launch of his Big Bang Unico is also down to another man: Julien Tornare. Fresh from Zenith, where the watch community unanimously recognised the excellence of his tireless work, he only arrived at Hublot on 1 September. Julien Tornare could have taken this opportunity to outline his plans for the manufacture, put himself in the spotlight, celebrate the moment with glitz and glamour and place himself on the same plane as Djokovic. Most CEOs would have seized such a magnificently media-friendly opportunity. But Julien Tornare did exactly the opposite.
From the outset, the new boss made it clear that this evening, at Place Vendôme, was his first outing as CEO. He was visibly moved by the occasion. Moreover, he took no credit for the launch of the Big Bang Novak Djokovic, instead carefully specifying that he had not led the project and thanking all those who had brought it to fruition. Julien Tornare played the transparency, teamwork and sincerity card. In a matter of seconds, he gained what others take years to achieve: trust.
An exceptional timepiece
And then, finally, and most importantly, there is the product itself. It cannot be overstated that a watch is never intrinsically “good” or “bad”: above all, it must be coherent within the universe of the brand. In this regard, the Big Bang Unico Novak Djokovic hit the bullseye.
Does Hublot stand for technical excellence? The watch head, excluding the bracelet, weighs a mere 49.5 grams. To guarantee its lightness, Hublot had to find a way to reduce the watch’s weight. Instead of traditional sapphire glass, the Swiss watchmaker opted for toughened Gorilla Glass, a material used in electronics that is twice as light as sapphire.
Is Hublot an integrated manufacture? The watch features the in-house Unico self-winding chronograph movement. To make it as light as possible, it is crafted from aluminium. Hublot has managed to shed 27% of the movement’s weight.
Is this a piece that relates to Novak Djokovic? Its case is made from a special composite manufactured from 25 Head racquets and 32 Lacoste polo shirts – 17 dark blue, 15 light blue – all worn by the player. It’s a truly innovative and environmentally responsible approach.
Will this timepiece mark history? Undoubtedly, because 100% of the racquets and polo shirts were actually used by Djokovic during the 2023 season, the year the world witnessed him enter the history books and shatter records, achieving an astonishing 24 Grand Slam titles. His Big Bang literally, physically, contains his “blood, sweat and tears,” as he put it.
At the end of the presentation, Novak Djokovic was naturally asked if he would play with this watch on his wrist. Any other ambassador would have feigned a self-evident, predestined bond with his watch. But here too, Djokovic did exactly the opposite. “I don’t know yet. I’ve never played with a watch. I find it strange, especially with my two-handed backhand. Any additional weight on the wrist can be a handicap. I haven’t tried playing with it yet, we’ll see.” Transparency and sincerity to the end.
It was a textbook performance. Hublot unquestionably remains “different” and “unique” but it is forging new paths, embodying universal values carried by a CEO and athletes who epitomise them with a refreshingly relevant, renewed vision of the brand.
