Everyone hates Hublot – here's why
It would be wrong to say that Hublot is one of the most popular and respected watch brands out there.
"People who wear a Hublot have no clue about luxury watches"
"Hublot sells poor quality at excessive prices"
These are just some accusations that Hublot and its customers are regularly faced with. It almost seems as if almost everyone hates Hublot.
But where exactly does this bad reputation come from? - Spoiler alert, Hublot has more to offer than we think!?
Hublot suffers from a very bad image in the luxury watch scene because it is said that it has no designs of its own, that it is overpriced, and that it does not have much to offer in terms of quality. On the internet, it almost became a trend to reject Hublot, meanwhile, the criticisms are only partially justified.
The image of Hublot, why they get so much hate.
If you type in Hublot into the search bar on YouTube, the first results are “why does everyone hate Hublot” and “is Hublot really this bad?” - just to name a few.
It is clear that the general attitude towards Hublot is very negative.
One thing to note is that Hublot gets a lot of criticism from the watch industry, while laymen often consider them to be chic.
But where does the bad reputation of Hublot even come from?
The brand perception and their clientele
Hublot has a very loud and striking brand image. When it comes to marketing, their philosophy is "more is more". The brand wants to be young, sporty, and polarizing.
To achieve their goal, they do a lot of collaborations such as with the rapper Jay-Z, the Chelsea soccer club, or Ferrari.
For many, Hublot is doing too much, some could even say they try to “fake it till they make it”.
Over the years, Hublot has gained the reputation of being a brand for newly rich people. Their watches are flashy and expensive, which is hard to miss, at least for most models. At the same time, watch geeks distance themselves from the brand and their watches.
Exactly these watch geeks are the ones who also criticize the brand for some points concerning their watches, which we'll get into in a moment.
Points of criticism: Price, quality, and design
Essentially there are 3 things that get a lot of criticism.
Some accuse Hublot of having overpriced watches, that are poorly finished and have an ugly design. Let's take a look at these 3 things.
First, their watches are too expensive. First of all, the term "too expensive" is probably always very subjective when it comes to luxury watches. The pricing of watches that are in the five-digit price segment is determined by their material, their technology, workmanship that went into them and to an even greater extent by the brand image.
The price of watches in the five-digit price segment is determined not only by the material, technology, and workmanship but also by the brand image.
With luxury watches, there is a huge difference between what the watch costs to produce and what it is worth. The price of luxury watches is mainly defined by supply and demand.
Hublot watches are priced between 5,000 and 50,000 euros. In the case of limited special models, the prices can quickly become much higher.
These are not unusual prices for luxury watches. However, many watch fanatics apparently feel that these are much too high, considering that the brand image is a big part of the price.
But besides the price, Hublot is also repeatedly criticized for their supposedly poor workmanship.
What is frowned upon in the watch industry is that especially the older watches do not have an in-house caliber, but an ordinary ETA caliber that is hardly modified. However, in the meantime, Hublot has even designed some manufacture calibers of outstanding quality, such as the HUB8100.
Still, it is true that the workmanship of older Hublot models sometimes left much to be desired. However, this phenomenon has long been a thing of the past. Because the current models from Hublot convince us when it comes to quality and workmanship.
One thing Hublot cannot really change is their designs.
Critics say that Hublot watches are an ugly copy of the Audemars Piguet Royal Oakor the Patek Phillipe Nautilus.
In fact, Hublot has not reinvented the wheel with their design. But that doesn't necessarily have to be a problem at all.
One thing we should applaud Hublot for is that they stick to their origins. The name Hublot is French and means porthole. The design of their watches is supposed to be inspired by this, which unfortunately is very similar to the Nautilus.
We think it’s undeniable that the design is at least inspired by Patek and AP. Still, we have to hand it to Hublot that the brand lives out its inspiration individually with its own character and doesn't clumsily copy it. After all, we could also accuse a Tudor Royal of stealing the design of the Royal Oak....
Besides, what is beautiful and aesthetic is also largely in the eye of the beholder.
So in the end, the biggest criticisms of Hublot wristwatches are the price, the quality, and the design.
All points of criticism have justified origins. However, Hublot has done a lot to fix their flaws and today these criticisms are only justified to a limited extent.
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How Mainstream and Social Media Direct Hate
Our point is that the hatred against Hublot is no longer based solely on justified criticism.
Unfortunately, there are a lot of people who hate Hublot for no reason at all.
The form of hate as it takes place here can be explained with a phenomenon from social psychology.
The watch community could be described as very conservative and intolerant. Therefore, brands that have a long history to look back on, such as Patek Philippe, are admired for their tradition and seen as not only one of the best but also one of the only real watchmakers out there. On the other hand, newer brands such as Hublot have extreme difficulty in establishing themselves.
Especially those watch enthusiasts that have been around for a bit longer see the lack of history as a big problem of Hublot.
This leads to a lot of people hating Hublot for no real reason other than they want to be a part of the sub-culture of real knowledgeable watch enthusiasts.
If you are representing the same opinion as watch experts, you yourself must be a watch expert, right?!
The unfortunate problem for Hublot is that once such a negative trend has started, it is very hard to stop it or turn it around.
Returning to social psychology, this phenomenon is called joining the winner's tendency. Where belonging to a large group gives a sense of security and strength.
Of course, the problem is, that this affects your personal opinion to a point where it is no longer your opinion. In the case of Hublot, a lot of people dislike Hublot not for their own personal reasons but because almost everyone hates Hublot and therefore you are almost forced to feel the same. Unfortunately, no matter how hard you try to fight this, your opinion is always going to be affected by it.
Is There Really a Lack of History?
As mentioned before, one of the biggest critique points of Hublot is that they lack history.
Obviously, Hublot has not nearly as long of a history to look back on as, for example, Patek Philippe, which was founded in 1939. or Zenith founded in 1865.
It is a fact that Hublot was officially founded in 1980.
Therefore, Hublot has only 45 years and not close to 200 years to look back on.
But we need to be careful whom we compare Hublot to. After all, Hublot doesn't try to produce traditional watches as we know them from Patek Philippe but makes rather modern watches. You could say even that they fill in the gap between a Richard Mille (a brand that itself is even younger than Hublot) and a traditional Patek Philippe.
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The history of Hublot
Hublot is young, actually compared to the average watchmaker, very young.
However, considering the young age, Hublot has already done more than you might think, but more on that later...
Hublot originated from the brand MDM Geneve.
The founder, Carlo Crocco, who at the time was working in his family's business (an Italian watchmaker) decided to go his own way and start his own company. Since he wanted to combine the Italian style with the solid Swiss craftsmanship, he decided to move to Geneva, Switzerland, where he launched the brand MDM Geneva.
The founder, Carlo Crocco, who at the time was working in his family's business (an Italian watchmaker) decided to go his own way and start his own company.
Since he wanted to combine the Italian style with the solid Swiss craftsmanship, he decided to move to Geneva, Switzerland, where he launched the brand MDM Geneva.
Followed shortly after in the year 1980, he founded the watch brand Hublot in Nyon near Lake Geneva as a successor of MDM Geneva.
At the time, the watch brand had a unique selling point. But it’s not, as you might think, the case that was so different, rather the strap of the watch. Crocco was a fascinated sailor, which is why he had the vision to create a combination that would combine elegance with sportiness. To combine these two properties, he decided to go for a rubber bracelet instead of a normal metal bracelet.
From today's perspective, the use of a rubber strap does not seem to be revolutionary at all. Today there are countless brands that use them for their watches.
But nevertheless, in a way, it is only due to Crocco that we started using rubber straps. Because it was really his idea to combine a high-quality case made of an expensive material with the cheap and industrial rubber.
The first-ever Hublot got the German name "Ur-Hublot" (this means as much as the first-ever Hublot), and would lay the base for the classic fusion series that would later be introduced.
Slowly becoming a part of the brand’s identity, the revolutionary spirit continued in the history of Hublot. Just three years after their first watch, the brand presented the Big Bang. As the name promised, this one shook the watch industry with its very unconventional design.
As they have for sure wanted it, the Big Bang stood out from their competitors. Of course, such an unusual design did not please everyone. Therefore, from the very beginning, Hublot's watches were met with some criticism.
Over the next two decades, Hublot continued to stay true to their rather unusual design philosophy, which came at the cost of winning over only a relatively manageable fan base.
CEO Crocco himself became so overwhelmed by the commercial part of the brand that over the years he began to neglect his real core discipline, watchmaking.
Following that, a man called Jean-Claude Biver entered the company, changing almost everything.
The Jean-Claude Biver Effect
Jean-Claude Biver might be a name you have already heard of. This man is a notorious marketing genius who has a lot of expertise in the luxury industry in particular.
When it comes to luxury watches, you could even say Biver has a magic touch.
To name some examples, he saved Blancpain after the quartz watch crisis in the 80s. He also did a great job at Omega in the '90s, where under his leadership, the brand tripled its sales.
In 2004, Biver finally became a minority shareholder at Hublot and took over the management of the company.
One of the first things he did was to launch a new flagship, the Big Bang Chronograph, which was very reminiscent of the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Chronograph. The Royal Oak Offshore, however, had been released already a decade earlier.
Nevertheless, the new flagship of Hublot enjoyed rapidly growing popularity.
In addition, Biver decided that he had to fundamentally change the direction the brand headed towards.
When he became the CEO of Hublot, he quickly realized that for a brand as young as Hublot, it was unnecessary to advertise their own tradition and innovations. Instead, he decided that a loud and flashy marketing that could not be overlooked would be the better choice.
Biver deliberately marketed Hublot as a hip fashion statement for men, which he did even at the expense of respectability.
Although this was a bold decision, the calculation worked out and Hublot was in a much better position than it had been in previous years. In 2008, the world's largest luxury group LVMH, with which Jean-Claude Biver had close connections to, finally bought Hublot.
To this day, the brand image of Hublot is still questionable, even though the brand has made massive progress regarding the quality of their watches.
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What Hublot Has to Offer
Let's take a look at the bright side of Hublot and see what they have done great.
We have to say that Hublot can be very convincing and extraordinary.
Meanwhile, the brand can especially shine with their innovative materials.
If we look at the different materials used, it becomes clear that Hublot combines traditional materials with newer materials like no other.
They combine familiar materials such as gold, brass, and steel with modern materials such as carbon, Kevlar, and rubber. In some extreme cases, they have even used concrete, denim, or linen.
They are also known for innovative new materials such as the scratch-resistant Magic Gold.
But Hublot uses many more unusual materials such as 3D carbon, which is a special composite material that can be shaped into different forms, magnesium, Nomex, leather, osmium, synthetic sapphire, titanium, tungsten, and zirconium.
Something very special is their red ceramic that Hublot has designed. The thing with ceramics is that it has proven to be extremely difficult to get a rich color in ceramics. In particular, the fiery red color was considered unfeasible for a long time, making it an even bigger achievement for Hublot.
Another remarkable development of Hublot is the so-called Texalium. This is a very hard and scratch-resistant surface coating that consists mainly of aluminum and has a core of glass fiber.
In addition, there is probably no other watch brand, apart from Richard Mille, that offers such a wide range of different colors. From a neon yellow case with a transparent strap to a watch that is completely baby blue or camouflage straps, everything is there. In fact, when it comes to color selection, there's nothing that doesn't exist.
Watchmaking at Hublot
Hublot has proven that they can come up with innovations, especially in terms of their materials and colors. But what about the brand's watchmaking?
Especially in the last couple of years, the watchmaking of Hublot has become something they can be proud of.
While the luxury watchmaker was often criticized for not using its own calibers in the past, the brand has now managed to produce outstanding in-house calibers.
Thus, Hublot uses in-house base calibers, the so-called Unico as well as the chronograph movement HUB1240, but also many other very sophisticated movements, which enable great complications.
Among the most notable complications are tourbillons or flying tourbillons, ratchet chronographs as well as minute repeaters with cathedral beat and a chronograph in combination with a perpetual calendar or moon phase.
In addition, Hublot is also known for their skeletonized watches. After all, it would be wrong to say that Hublot is not a good watchmaker. On paper, the watchmaking of Hublot has even more to offer than the watchmaking of Rolex.
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Hublot Models You Have to Know
Hublot has four different model series: the Big Bang, Classic Fusion, MP, and Shaped.
It is worth mentioning that Hublot has already produced countless special editions and collaborations, such as with Bugatti or Ferrari.
The Big Bang series is the flagship of Hublot and the first watch people think about when they hear Hublot. Not only does it have the most memorable design, but it also comes in a lot of different versions. You can also choose between almost every possible complication and a wide variety of colors.
Then there is the Classic Fusion. It has a more classic, subtle appearance and is also available with different complications such as moon phase or chronograph. But it stands out above all for its unusual material composition.
The Shaped series have a square design, which has great similarities to the Cartier Santos and Richard-Mille watches. This puts them in direct competition, which we think might be another problem.
But the most unusual might be the MP series. These watches have an ultra-large case of up to 49 millimeters, which also has a strange asymmetrical shape.
This creates an extremely unusual appearance and makes the watch hardly wearable. That is why this is probably the most unpopular Hublot ever. Some even consider it to be very ugly.
Is your watchknowledge up to date?
Here is our list of must-know watches!
Bet you'll find a watch on it that you've never seen before.
Conclusion - This is What Hublot Needs to Change
The reputation precedes Hublot, but unfortunately in a negative sense.
But, Hublot is not as bad as everyone says it is, and not as bad as it might have once been.
The watchmaking world is definitely too hard on the brand. There are some people that literally just look for mistakes and bad things, while traditional brands are dealt with in a much more forgiving manner.
Hublot, on the other hand, does not claim to be a replacement for these brands, but wants to convince with young new approaches and visions and break old patterns in the luxury watch landscape.
However, this turns out to be very difficult in the conservative luxury watch industry.
In order to build their brand bigger, Hublot definitely needs an image change. The brand needs to focus on their craftsmanship and get rid of its loud nouveau riche image.
Hublot's supreme discipline is its exceptional choice of materials. This is a unique selling point that the luxury watch manufacturer could stage much better.
Hublot should try much harder to market their knowledge in material than spending this much on collaborations with celebrities.
Besides that, nowadays the company can also convince with its own manufacture calibers.
We would not be surprised if the Hublot brand becomes a very popular brand one day, but only if they manage to get rid of their bad image and acquire a new, positive one.
But that's easier said than done because coming up with a new brand design is no easy task, and who knows, it may never be well received...
To come to a conclusion, it can be said that an image change, by focusing more on the brand's distinctive features, could give Hublot a whole new position in the luxury watch world. The potential is there. - What do you think about this brand? Comment down below.
Scource cover image: Pexels
About the author
Alexander Weinberger
For me, the most fascinating thing about watches is the interplay between precise craftsmanship and artistic development. In a watch movement, hundreds of small parts have to be put together precisely so that they form a large whole.
