In Conversation: Hublot CEO Jean-Claude Biver - Men's Folio
Interview

In Conversation: Hublot CEO Jean-Claude Biver

  • By Men's Folio

Jean-Claude Biver is known for two things – reigniting the Swiss watch industry and Hublot. A revolutionary figure, Biver has triumphed across three famous Swiss brands with his aggressive style and far-sighted decisions. Spanning three decades and sparked by his Midas touch, Blancpain, Omega and Hublot continue to thrive and evolve in an increasingly challenging luxury market. Known to be tireless, the Hublot CEO offers a peek into his psyche and allows us to understand what made the man and what continues to drive him.

Hublot Ceo Jean Claude Biver

Men’s Folio: How is your trip to Asia so far?

Jean-Claude Biver: I look sleepy because I have nothing to do. When I travel, I like something to do. When I have nothing to do for 20 minutes, BOOM! You are an iconic person in the Swiss watch industry… I’m old, but old does not mean iconic! Don’t be confused!

What was the catalyst that made you decide to buy Blancpain in 1982?

I knew that Blancpain was the oldest watch brand and name in the Swiss watch industry but at that time, Blancpain had been inactive for 22 years. The last time it had been active was in 1959. So in 1982, all the machines, the factories, the furniture, the real estate and the people of Blancpain no longer existed; One can say that the name had been forgotten. Twenty-two years is nearly a generation. I believed that we could buy Blancpain for a low price. No contracts, no people, nothing – just the name. But this name came all the way from 1735. Blancpain was the oldest Swiss watch brand. We also knew that we wanted to go into traditional watch-making, and we told ourselves that we could buy any of the brands of the world, and that we could give all these brands a new start with traditional pieces. However, to ma ke traditional pieces with the oldest name is only logical. You expect the oldest brand to make traditional movements! So we decided we wanted Blancpain to come back from history and to make traditional watches in the era of quartz watches.

So how does that era contrast with today?

In those days it was relatively easy because big conglomerates did not exist. Swatch Group, the biggest in the world today, had no luxury department or brands. They only had Omega – no Breguet, no Blancpain and no Glashütte. Richemont did not exist. Jaeger-LeCoultre was independent. IWC was independent. Piaget was independent. Back then, if you are competing in the market with smaller companies, it was easier than fighting against a group of more than 20 brands! Also, when everyone went into quartz back then and you claim that since 1735 there had never been a quartz watch from Blancpain, you only needed one advertisement to get attention. What? They say they have never made a quartz watch? They will never do one? So we got huge attention although we had very little budget because we were contrary to everyone else.

Furthermore, we had a product that was very classic. In the 1970s through the 1980s, watch products became design oriented. Look at the Royal Oak. It had an octagonal design with screws. Before that, watches were round and classic with leather straps. Suddenly, we had come out with a basic round design with a nice leather strap. People said the watches looked old. And then we put the moon phase on the dial. The moon brought nostalgia and the blue and gold were eye catching. Immediately, the watch gained attention. All these elements gave us an easy start because there was no resistance from the market. Small budget but huge attention with just one product. In the first year we sold about 170 watches. And then 300, and then 1,000, 5,000, 6,000 – one record year after another for 10 years!

Of course with Hublot, you had greater challenges. The challenges with Hublot were at least 10 times bigger with the big conglomerates, and with Hublot’s then – outmoded designs. And at that time, Hublot had about 96 per cent quartz watches in a time when no one in luxury wanted quartz watches. Hublot was bad! Blancpain, in the least, was not bad. Blancpain was contrarian, but in a good way. Hublot was contrarian but in a bad way! No one remembered the Hublot name. We had difficulties setting up Hublot boutiques and advertising was expensive.

What was the turning point that brought Hublot to where it is today?

The turning point was the introduction of the Big Bang. It was a genius design. The round design was inspired by the porthole which incidentally was the same inspiration behind the design of the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak. Hublot’s porthole however was round as portholes are generally round. The original Hublots were small, 33mm in size, in a time when everyone wanted bigger watches. I had said to the then designer, “You know what? Hublot has had the same design since 1980 and they never changed it. It’s like if you take the Porsche 911 in 1980 and you look at a Porsche now, the evolution of the 911 always retained the same shape but the evolution itself is gigantic. Can you also put a similar evolution to the Hublot 1980? The designer then came out with the Big Bang. I gasped! “Fantastic! Wow! That’s a BIG BANG!” And so we got the name.

The turning point was also the name which everyone remembered. And I told Hublot that we needed a new message, a new philosophy, one that was different from the Royal Oak. I said we had something that no one else had. We put rubber and gold together. Rubber and gold do not exist together in nature. One comes from trees and the other from the ground. So we created a fusion of these two materials – so our message was crafted to be the “Art of Fusion”. Henceforth, whatever we did, we included an element of fusion. We even did black ceramic bezels with red gold and rubber.

Hublot Big Bang Chronograph

People in Hong Kong tell me that Hublot is the choice of bankers. Is this true?

No! Because bankers are dressed like bankers, and bankers dress boring. They wear boring watches!

Coming back to the man, Jean-Claude Biver, what is the watch that you have kept for the longest time?

I collect watches. I have every Blancpain number Zero. But the watch that I have been wearing the longest is my Bigger Bang Tourbillon Chronograph All Black. I swear by it. I have been wearing it non-stop since 2006. I don’t like to travel with too many watches. I have a good reputation and I don’t want to be accused of smuggling watches! Anyway the Bigger Bang is a good luck charm because in 2006, I had it made for myself. I told myself then that this is the future of watches. This is the direction I want. It’s a watch that has great meaning and everything has gone well ever since I wore it. I wear it not only because I like it but also because the watch likes me and brings me luck.

Does it have a serial number?

It has no number. It has “No Number” written on it!

As someone who is regarded as a revolutionary in the Swiss watch industry, what do you think of the role of social and alternative media in this industry?

Social media is a must! It’s the future and it’s already in the present! For any brand! We should not avoid social media and we must invest in it. It’s more efficient than traditional advertising. Too many companies are investing too little into social media. I am ready to stop all traditional advertising and put all budget into social media. Of course I get objections. If I were to start a new brand, I would only use social media. The Swiss watch industry is doing nothing! Very often it’s just one guy doing social media for the company. You need 10 in every country where your brand is. It’s not just one guy in Switzerland. However, you can’t find many social media experts as it’s still new. I’m working on a social media concept now.

Can you tell us a little bit more about your cheese? What sort of cheese do you make?

Cheese is my way to go back to the start of the Swiss watch-making art. When the French came into Switzerland during the religious wars, they brought the knowledge on how to make watches. They began teaching in farmhouses. The Swiss farmers were poor but they had a special character – they were very accurate and patient. And so the French taught the farmers. And they offered money for each watch part the farmers made. And then the farmers realized they could make more money, they got their children to make the parts as well. Soon the farmers discovered that they could earn more money making watch part instead of cheese. Slowly, they were called farmer watch-makers. So I make cheese to reconnect to the origin of watch-making. I make the same cheese that these watchmakers made when they were still farmers – it is called Gruyère.

 In Conversation Hublot Ceo Jean Claude Biver 3