In 2008, Hublot agreed a sponsorship deal with the football club Manchester United, worth £4 million a year. In March 2010, Hublot was appointed the Official Watchmaker of Formula 1™. In April 2010 Hublot became the official time keeper of the 2010FIFA World Cup and the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

The Jean-Claude Biver era

Carlo Crocco, preoccupied by his own design work and many activities for the Hand-in-Hand Foundation, a charity helping deprived children all around the world, set out to look for the man who could oversee his watchmaking business. In late 2003, Jean-Claude Biver met Carlo Crocco, and in May 2004, Jean-Claude Biver assumed his duties as CEO, becoming a board member and minority shareholder in Hublot watches.

Subsidiaries

Hublot owns two subsidiaries, one in the United States and the other in Japan. It continues to produce “Classic” watches in parallel to the “Big Bang” collection. The number of pieces produced stood at 24,000 in 2007 and is estimated to reach 30,000 in 2008.

With the arrival of Jean-Claude Biver in 2004, the brand’s sales hit 24 million Swiss francs. By the end of 2006, sales were bordering on the 100 million Swiss franc mark.

The brand has grown since the arrival of Jean-Claude Biver and forecasts show sales of 150 million for the end of 2007 and 220 million for 2008. A new manufacture is planned for the beginning of 2009.

Hublot stores

In February 2007, Hublot opened its first mono-brand store in Paris, in the Rue Saint-Honoré. The second was opened in the summer, in the Hôtel Byblos, Saint-Tropez.

Hublot WiseKey

At BaselWorld 2009, Hublot released a new way to detect counterfeit watches. Using a WiseKey smart card the system authenticates watches on Hublot’s servers. It will appear in August of 2009.

No tags

A raging wildfire in northern Arizona that has consumed 15,000 acres of vegetation was about 50 percent contained by Saturday, authorities said.

Known as the Schultz fire, the blaze, which is located about 8 km north of Flagstaff and west of north Highway 89, was helped by a combination of the weather and the strong winds.

The fire, which was believed to have been started by an abandoned campfire Sunday, threatened homes, watersheds and wilderness areas in Coconino National Forest, the management team said.

As of Saturday, Highway 89 has opened while all other roads and trails in the vicinity of the fire still remain closed.

Fire danger is considered high to extreme in Arizona, which has seen two wildfires burn more than 3,000 acres each in the last month. Relief isn’t expected until next month, when summer monsoons start bringing rain to the region, according to authorities.

Nine hundred firefighters battling the wildfire were focusing on the west, north and southwest edges of the blaze. Houses on the east edge, where hundreds of residents had been evacuated, are now out of danger, The Arizona Republic newspaper reported.

Fire crews have also made gains against other three wildfires in the state. The Eagle Rock Fire which covers 3,420 acres was 100 percent contained on Friday.

Other fires on smaller scales were expected to put out over the weekend, according to the report.

No tags

Hublot owns two subsidiaries, one in the United States and the other in Japan. It continues to produce “Classic” watches in parallel to the “Big Bang” collection. The number of pieces produced stood at 24,000 in 2007 and is estimated to reach 30,000 in 2008.

With the arrival of Jean-Claude Biver in 2004, the brand’s sales hit 24 million Swiss francs. By the end of 2006, sales were bordering on the 100 million Swiss franc mark.

The brand has grown since the arrival of Jean-Claude Biver and forecasts show sales of 150 million for the end of 2007 and 220 million for 2008. A new manufacture is planned for the beginning of 2009.

No tags

In 1980, Carlo Crocco created the Hublot watch in gold fitted with the first natural black rubber strap in the history of watchmaking. It took 3 years of research to create the strap. The watch proved to be a market success and laid the basis for the watch manufacture.

In the mid-90s, rubber became the focus of interest for watchmaking brands. Hublot remains one of the last independent family-run watchmaking businesses with a unique mono-product concept. Hublot was able to preserve its personality and extend its range to include an array of collections, some featuring sports complications and limited editions.

No tags