Does anyone consider Hublot a top tier brand now?

Recently visited the Hublot boutique in Las Vegas and was impressed with the fit and finish of the Unico in house movement and their multitude of exotic cases and artistic ideas. I have traditionally considered Hublot to be a lower tier brand, like Breitling ie big bling cases with modded ETA movements, but it seems like the innovation and quality are vastly improved now. Curious about the ownership experience, accuracy etc for those with experience. The salesperson I talked with said they are not COSC certified. The prices suggest they are on par with Blancpain or even AP. What is the reality?

 

You have to buy what appeals to you... but Hublot is not in the Holy Trinity - PP, VC, AP or the big 5 - add JLC, ALS...
Again buy what you love...top tier has many other meanings...


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What plastique999 said. Sub tier.


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Can you enumerate the exact names of those abbreviations? I would appreciate it.


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Patek Phillipe, Vacheron Constantin, Audemars Piguet, Jaeger Le Coultre, A Lange et Sohne

 

Ok thank you, I’ve heard of 3 of those! I’m a newbie, learning—!


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I assume these are the brands he is referring....., I live in Florida, Rolex is very popular in Florida


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Not without Jean Claude Biver...

 

Do not buy new!!!


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I saw this some time ago on an Omega forum. I don't agree with it 100%, but I'm curious to see what others here think.

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The comments regarding value are suspect. Each of the watch brands in that chart have pieces that lose significant value vs. retail. It's not like any of them are Daniels or Dufour.

 

Top tier is about right and, yes Breguet has enormous histories and provenance.
But there is no way Rolex and RM are in the same tier. RM lowest model base price is 6 figures....


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Well I do this for a living so maybe my insight helps a bit. Hublot is not a top tier brand, neither is VC in my opinion. The top tier brands right now are PP, Journe and ALS (there are probably a few others but not as well known and their production is extremely small). RM is up there too price wise but I just don't see their quality or movement complications in the same league as the other 3 I mentioned. VC used to be in the "holy trinity" but they're not as respected since they're owed by Richemont. ALS is also part of a conglomerate but their movement finish is probably the best so they get a pass.

That chart has many wrong things so don't pay too much attention to it. Breguet has tremendous history but their current designs don't really appeal to many and as far as technical innovations go, nothing really going on there. Omega in my opinion has movements on par with Rolex, the finishing I would also say is about the same but Rolex has better designs. Whereas Omega has some great designs, almost every Rolex design is beautiful and timeless. By that I mean the base design and I'm ignoring the blinged out GMTs, Daytonas, Day Dates, etc.. IWC is also another great brand which has beautiful designs but they were never taken as seriously since they used generic movements and modified them a bit. They've recently started making more in-house movements and are catching up there but I always thought they had a great lineup.

Overall, Rolex is still the king of resale and demand. The only reason many other brands are now more in demand is because Rolex has wait lists and many people don't want to wait 6 months to get a Submariner or Datejust (GMTs and Daytonas are years) so they go and get another brand. I personally wear an Omega now because I don't want to pay significantly over retail for a Submariner or almost double retail for a GMT. So in other words brands like Omega, IWC, Breitling, Hublot, etc. are riding on Rolex' higher tide. Not to take away from those brands as they have always had their own customer base but now many are looking at them because Rolex is hard to get new.

At the same time, people who used to have a higher end Rolex (let's say Daytona), now want an AP because a Daytona isn't special enough anymore. Then those who had APs now want something even more special so they look at RMs. What Rolex has done is quite amazing, actually. Again, not to take away from AP even though they're a bit of a one hit wonder with the Royal Oak.

Hublot is a cool brand but they are the new guys in town. I believe they were established in the 80s or 90s. While that means not much in the way of history, it also allows them to experiment a bit more and they have some really cool materials and fairly unique designs. They've been putting a lot of work into their movements in the last few years and more and more in-house stuff is coming out which will help solidify them.

Right now, the hottest models from Rolex, AP, PP, Journe and RM are going for over retail. Stuff like Breitling, IWC, Omega, Hublot, etc. can still be had at a discount (I usually sell them for 25-30% off). We'll see how much longer that lasts.

 

Excellent summary.

I personally cannot stand Hublot. I can’t think of a design they use that isn’t stolen from another watch maker and the ones I’ve seen up close aren’t impressive in terms of movement or finish quality. What they’ve got going for them is a lot of marketing dollars and they’re intentionally pricing themselves into higher tiered watchmaker arenas so they appear to compete, but in the end they just don’t hold a candle. Not as bad as buying a “Rolax” (versus a Rolex), but not far from it either.

 

I sold a new Big Bang Unico 2 weeks ago and to my embarrassment barely looked at it. To my defense I picked it up from FedEx in the morning and immediately delivered it before heading to the office so I was a bit short on time. Next time I get one I'll loupe it more and pay attention to the finer details. I do think their designs are interesting although they copy AP a bit. You are correct that they're spending a ton of money on marketing and I see them everywhere.

In my previous post I forgot to talk about JLC. One of my favorite brands but I decided to skip them over for my personal watch as they're a bit too big for me and I've read about some quality control issues on the forums. I don't recall how recent they were but that struck me a bit especially since they have quite the history and used to provide movements for some of the big boys like Patek Philippe. I'd still like to get a Reverso at some point but it's a bit too formal as an every day watch for me.

 

The thing that bothers me about the Hublots are the bezel screws are never matched to the bezel direction so it creates an eye sore. At least the AP have it nice and symmetric looking. Maybe Hublot didn't want to completely steal the design...

 

Some illustrations of my design complaint:

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Design stolen from Audemars Offshore.

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Design stolen from Richard Millie.
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Design “heavily borrowed from” MB&F.

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Rainbow design, albeit cartoonishly overdone, taken from Rolex Daytona RNBW.

 

That last one is hideous...the LaFerrari one is too, but I'm sure some LaF owners/users here like it. It looks like a keyfob.

 

I wouldn't wear any of those....puke.

 

Jean-Claude Biver did work for AP prior to Hublot, so it’s no wonder that the Gerald Genta design has crossover similarity.


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I would put Blancpain higher on the pyramid. Also not sure how many RM guys would like to see their $100K+ pieces lumped in with Rolex and Hublot. Other marques like GP and Chopard make many lower end models but also have the ability to create some extraordinary haute horology

https://www.girard-perregaux.com/en/bridges/quasar-light-99295-43-001-ba6a

 

One of my favorite store in Vegas. Was there a really spunky lady working there with short hair. I've never met anyone more passionate and knowledgeable about watches.

 

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Live bang in the middle of Swiss watch producers county. Watches are commercial products so they are made to sell, whatever the price. Once bought, prices drop considerably, apart from very special designs and unico's. It also is very much a personal thing, as always the case with design. Next is it important for me to not have just another of many thus check how many of that type are being produced. Bottomline, just concentrate on what you like and see whether you can find that one, in immaculate condition, second hand (but with existing guarantee).

For me the no. 1 is and remains Patek P. My favorite watch though is the Parmigiani Fleurier (still an independent producer and not part of a larger group), with 2 'clockworks'. Allows me to travel even to countries with 15 min of time difference. I like Hublot too but they are somewhat more commercial and my liking is limited to a model or 2. As for Rolex, too much of a hype for me, a brand witch spends enormous amounts on marketing. Believe much more than any other brand. Rolex likely is the brand which produces most watches too, another dislike. Chopard has a nice range, from not too expensive to expensive. Other like-able brands (to me) are Breguet, Jaeger LC and Blancpain. Based on this outline you already can see I would not go for 'poppy' watches. Watches are like cars, you always want one extra

 

Watches are like Cars... There are ones you dream about and there are ones that you actually can afford. Watches are like cars... once you buy it, they lose value, except for special limited pieces, just like cars. If you expect your watch or car to go up in value... you must be a VIP with the brand to receive the speciality, limited watch/car. (Pay to Play) I'll leave you with one example of my VIP watch made to order from Panerai. Some of you will love it, while others with hate it. It's personal preference, there is no right or wrong.
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