News Hublot now has a magnificent building with a view over Lake Geneva and the Alps. Launch of a manufactory movement.
On 29 October this year more than 150 people answered the invitation of Jean-Claude Biver to attend the inauguration with great pomp and ceremony of his new manufactory located in the industrial zone of Nyon. The local authorities, including the Mayor of Nyon Daniel Rossellat, retailers from around the world, the press, and also and more especially Bernard Arnault, the CEO of LVMH, and Philippe Pascal, president of the group’s "Watches and Jewellery" division, made a point of being present. Three shepherds opened the ceremony to the sound of the Alpen horn. The traditional cutting of the ribbon marked the official opening of the manufactory and the point of departure for different groups assembled for the visit.
A 6000 m2 building planned in the medium term to accommodate 300 employees now contains the entire world of Hublot. The first two floors house the reception with its pleasant baroque lounge, machining and assembly workshops, the after-sales service department, technical departments and purchasing offices. The third floor is dedicated to management, marketing, and sales and accounting offices. Here there is also a comfortable showroom, as well as the headquarters of Hublot TV, complete with its own recording studio. With an eye on the quality of life of its personnel and because 47% of the workforce are women, Jean-Claude Biver also made a point of including a crèche, Les Hublotins, which can accommodate around a dozen toddlers.
Since one piece of good news deserves another, Jean-Claude Biver took the opportunity of this inaugural day to announce the launch of his first manufactory calibre, the Unico movement. This chronograph, developed entirely in-house, is at the “working prototype” phase. It will soon take its place inside the case of the King Power, the latest model launched by the brand this year. At present, the machining workshop is producing bridges, plates and miscellaneous steel components which will be assembled by around fifteen new employees due to be recruited in January. The target is 2,000 Unico movements in 2010 and nearly 20,000 in the medium term.
One of the special features of this Flyback chronograph is the positioning of its mechanism and of the famous “column wheel” on the dial side. However one of its major innovations is the removable platform escapement on which, by request, owners of the watch can even have their initials engraved! It is an ingenious and subtle feature that will facilitate servicing and maintenance of the movement, while also allowing personalisation. The escapement (pallet-wheel and pallets) is made of silicon, a high-tech material both strong and light which is also wear-resistant, offering exemplary operating accuracy.
Over the past five years Hublot’s success has been staggering: from its origins in a small old-fashioned and poorly equipped building, the firm has become a magnificent ultra-modern company; the Big Bang, the brand’s flagship model available in multiple versions, continues to chalk up phenomenal successes; and today the Unico manufactory movement comes as icing on the cake. The new manufactory faces not only Lake Geneva and the Alps, but also a bright future to which everything in this new structure beckons. "The art of fusion", the slogan beloved of Jean-Claude Biver, acquires its full meaning in the context of this new setting.
November 23, 2009
