iW Magazine Spring 2020 | Page 67

The Eden Rock Hotel in St. Barths WHILE MANY WATCH BRANDS ARE TURNING TO BRAND AMBASSADORS and so-called “social media influencers” to get further exposure in house- holds around the world, Hublot has been successfully taking another tact: global partnerships. During the past fifteen years, the brand has aligned with a variety of sports, arts and lifestyle organizations. Don’t get me wrong. Hublot still has ambassadors (approximately two dozen), but its real far-reaching impact occurs when the Hublot name is magnified in the market as a result of these creative partnerships. “Every year Hublot has an important partner theme,” says Ricardo Guadalupe, Hublot CEO. “In 2020 it will be soccer. Soccer has been instrumental for world awareness. Millions of people follow it and maybe they can’t all afford to buy a Hublot watch, but they are seeing the brand on the referee board, which is now in the shape of a clock, and all over the soccer fields.” Hublot holds a variety of soccer partnerships ranging from partner to official watch and official timekeeper with organizations such as FIFA World Cup and the UEFA Nations League Finals and Euro Cup. It also has had an important relationship for nine years with Scuderia Ferrari. More recently, the brand has been delving deeply into lifestyle partnerships that enrich both partner brands, working with fine design houses like Berluti and Italia Independent, as well as with artists, musicians and world-class resorts. It is a continuance in these lifestyle relationships that spawned the release of the recent Hublot Eden Rock Limited Edition watches. HUBLOT CLASSIC FUSION ST. BARTHS WATCHES The new Hublot Classic Fusion and Classic Fusion Aerofusion Chronograph Special Edition Eden Rock St. Barths watches were unveiled to the world this past December during a celebratory weekend in the French West Indies that marked the grand re-opening of the iconic Eden Rock Hotel. The hotel, like the rest of the island, had suffered a blow from Hurricane Irma in 2017, and has been closed for renovations ever since. Eden Rock, long a hot spot socialites and celebrities, is situated atop a quartzite bluff that extends on either side to swank beaches (Nikki on one SPRING 2020 | INTERNATIONAL WATCH | 67