Hublot shows its colours with the Big Bang Joyful watches
With their 33mm cases set with coloured stones and their vibrant straps, the Big Bang One Click Joyful models launched in June 2025 aim to strengthen Hublot’s presence in the women’s watch sector. Julien Tornare, the brand’s CEO, discusses the reasons behind this strategic launch. Isabelle Cerboneschi
Julien Tornare, CEO of Hublot
The last time I interviewed Julien Tornare, he had restored the Zenith manufacture to its rightful place, at the Zenith, after more than doubling its turnover and restoring the lustre of this brand that helped write the history of watchmaking. In September 2024, he was appointed CEO of Hublot. He is the ideal man to completely overhaul the brand’s strategy, which includes the creation of a new manufacturing facility.
Last July, after a lunch by the lake on a heatwave day, he talked about the new Big Bang One Click Joyful series. A collection that lives up to its name, with the word ‘Joyful’ standing out. With their 33 mm case, bezel set with coloured stones and matching rubber strap in bright colours, these watches are aimed primarily at a female clientele.
Red, orange, pink, sky blue or apple green: a total of five models set with red spinels, orange sapphires, pink sapphires, blue topazes and tsavorites, harmonising perfectly with summer wardrobes. And because these watches feature the One Click quick strap change system, their owners can have fun creating different combinations between the colours of the stones and the two straps sold with the model.
INTERVIEW
Why did you launch the Big Bang Joyful collection with bezels set with brightly coloured stones?
Julien Tornare: I felt that we were missing a feminine touch, even though I don’t like to define a watch as feminine or masculine because that doesn’t fit with my philosophy of watchmaking. I wanted to create watches with summery colours that are easy to wear. We started working on the collection quite late: I launched the project in October 2024 so that the models would be ready in the spring. We started delivering them in June. The brand has a rather masculine spirit, so it was nice to add this feminine twist. We’ll be presenting other projects in the same vein next year.
What percentage of Hublot watches are women’s watches?
We manage to sell a quarter of our watches to women without having done much in terms of models, communication or environment, two areas that remain quite masculine when you look at our advertising visuals or our ambassadors. We have Friends of the Brand, such as chef Anne-Sophie Pic and ski champion Corinne Suter, but we don’t have any feminine global ambassadors who promote the brand’s values, speak on behalf of Hublot and enable us to gain greater recognition among female customers. Yet we need them. It’s a project we’re working on, and this Joyful series is a way of getting our foot in the door.
What percentage of female customers would you like to reach?
I would like to reach 40%. I think women are becoming more and more interested in fine watchmaking, in creative, innovative watches with a funkier side. There is a new wind blowing through the watchmaking industry, and this collection will raise our profile among female customers.
Hublot sells a quarter of its watches to women.
Who chose the stones for the Joyful collection?
A member of our team specialising in gemmology, with whom we worked on this collection. We discussed the colours we wanted to develop and she guided us towards particular stones.
Who sets the stones in your watches?
We work with Pierre Salanitro, who has been a privileged partner since Hublot’s early days. We have a very close relationship. We are one of his long-standing partners and he knows he can count on us.
The five colours of the Hublot Big Bang Joyful collection.
Speaking of watches set with coloured stones, what about the Rainbow model?
We have always played with materials, colours and stones, so it made sense to have a Rainbow in the collection. But at a certain point, it became a fashion trend. Creating a Rainbow setting in an elegant and balanced way requires a huge amount of work, and if you overdo it, you kill the exclusivity. I speak for the entire industry. It’s a trend that will continue, but we won’t overuse the concept: only one or two models will potentially be available in Rainbow.
Is it worth considering adding animations to Joyful on demand?
No, not on a piece like this. Not only would it require an enormous amount of work, but it would also detract from the collection. If everyone can do whatever they want, there are no longer any limits. However, we receive so many requests for special orders that I am going to set up a Bespoke department, which will be very selective. We will offer this service in a very contemporary way, something only the Hublot brand can offer, which will allow us to create unique pieces for watch enthusiasts. We are in the process of creating a new factory, which will open next year, where we are developing a secret space in which only a privileged few will be able to work on designing their watches. This will enable us to meet the ultimate demands of our main customers.
Before bringing the conversation to a close, Julien Tornare mentions a new concept involving a highly innovative setting that his teams at Hublot are working on. But it was challenging to learn more about it, as it is a top-secret project. We will have to wait until 2026 to find out more…
