JULIEN TORNARE IS MAKING HUBLOT’S NEXT ERA ABOUT PROOF, NOT JUST PROVOCATION

Hublot built its modern reputation by making the improbable look normal: gold with rubber, ceramics in saturated colours, carbon composites, transparent sapphire and collaborations that traditional Swiss watchmaking once might have dismissed as theatre. Julien Tornare’s challenge as chief executive is not to make the brand less disruptive. It is to make that disruption feel structurally durable.

A recent LUXUO interview offers a useful outline of that strategy. Tornare talks about materials science, the continuing evolution of the Big Bang, in-house research and development, high complications and collector relationships. Yet the clearest signal is less glamorous than a new alloy: Hublot’s 5+5 warranty.

TEN YEARS AS A STATEMENT OF CONFIDENCE

Since 1 January 2026, eligible Hublot watches receive a five-year international warranty, with owners able to unlock a further five-year extension through the Hublotista programme while the original coverage remains active. Connected and Certified Pre-Owned models follow different terms. For a brand whose identity is often discussed in visual terms, the policy makes a technical promise that can be measured over time.

Hublot explicitly links the extended coverage to investment in its Nyon manufacture, in-house calibres and testing. Tornare describes it as evidence of confidence in quality and durability rather than a marketing add-on. That distinction is important because luxury clients increasingly expect service, traceability and long-term support to match the ambition of the purchase price.

THE BIG BANG AFTER ITS ANNIVERSARY

The Big Bang remains Hublot’s central design asset. The Reloaded generation introduced in 2026 does not attempt to escape that inheritance. Instead, it refines proportions, ergonomics and movement architecture while keeping the modular, industrial character that made the original recognisable from across a room.

That approach reveals Tornare’s wider philosophy. Hublot does not need to become a quiet classical manufacture to prove watchmaking credibility. Its challenge is to make fine-watchmaking codes pass through the brand’s own filter: bold cases, technical materials and complications designed with a contemporary physical presence rather than historical imitation.

The material research remains aggressive. LUXUO points to experiments with osmium, diamonds set into sapphire and the composite material developed for the Novak Djokovic GOAT watch using recycled tennis equipment and apparel. Such projects can easily become novelty for novelty’s sake; Tornare’s argument is that the research only matters when it improves performance, durability or emotional connection.

FROM REBEL BRAND TO INSTITUTION

The underlying transformation is one that many successful disruptors eventually face. Once a rebel becomes established, provocation alone is no longer enough. Collectors begin to ask harder questions about movements, servicing, resale, longevity and what a watch will mean after the launch campaign has disappeared.

Hublot’s answer is to institutionalise the parts of rebellion that work. A secondary manufacture is on the horizon, the warranty has been extended, the Unico platform continues to evolve and the brand is tying product ownership more closely to Hublotista experiences. None of that removes the need for spectacle; it gives spectacle an infrastructure.

Tornare’s most difficult task may therefore be one of balance. Hublot has to preserve the emotional shock that made it famous while convincing a more demanding collector base that the watch behind the idea is built for decades. The next era will be successful if innovation no longer needs to choose between surprise and substance.

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