Hublot Hits The ‘Bulls-Eye’ In The World of Sports

Swiss Luxury watch brand Hublot is known to dive into the sports world like most luxury brands. However, with almost everybody using this strategy, Hublot always hits the mark.

Their ‘bullseye’, let’s just say,  has always been to link some of their limited edition timepiece with the characteristics of an iconic sports figures such as Miami Heat player Dwayne Wade, Laker’s All-Star Kobe Bryant or soccer legend Diego Maradona.

Kobe Bryant is the most recent addition to the Hublot family, introducing the Hublot King Power “Black Mamba”. The best leading athlete nicknamed the “Black Mamba” which inspired the name of the watch plays shooting guard for the Los Angeles Lakers of the NBA.  Bryant has won five NBA championships, is a 15-time All-Star, 14-time member of the All-NBA Team, and 12-time member of the All-Defensive team. Ricardo Gualupe, CEO of Hublot has stated, “Bryant is the perfect choice for Hublot – a brand known for its precision and excellence, traits that have characterized the basketball icon’s celebrated career,we could not be more excited to add Kobe Bryant to our roster of brand ambassadors, all of whom are living testimonies to athletic superiority and perseverance. Kobe’s achievements are an inspiration to all of us here at Hublot and we look forward to a wonderful partnership,” Guadalupe added.

The watch is quite extraordinary; this fantastic timepiece is a limited edition and only 250 pieces ever made. The main objective of the watch was to highlight Kobe’s personality and career.

The King Power “Black Mamba” is made of black ceramic, with a silver colored snake around the counter at 9 o’clock and the inclusion of the 24 at 6 o’clock representing Kobe’s basketball number. The python snake and strap sewed on black leather adds a little character to the piece.

Another Hublot ambassador that came out with a fantastic piece was Dwayne Wade. The Hublot King Power “Dwayne Wade” is both simple and sophisticated and was designed to cross over different age groups and different people; it was intended not only for the basketball fan.

This limited edition 500 piece watch has a structured basketball dial. The color scheme: Black, Red, White are Dwayne Wade’s favorite colors as well as being the signature colors of the Miami Heat.  The details of the watch include a basketball net stitch on the strap and Dwayne Wades signature jersey number 3.

Both Watches the King Power ‘ Black Mamba’ and the King Power ‘Dwayne Wade’ are special expression of the Hublot’s family: “black ceramic, titanium, tungsten, rhodium plating, and composite elements completed with a black python or leather strap .”

The question is, yes all these timepieces are compelling but are basketball players the best people to represent brands such as Hublot? Do they really understand the true craftsmanship and quality of the Hublot brand?  Perhaps, putting an “All American” face on a Swiss brand can promote the brand better here.

The main objective of Hublot is to link themselves to the world of sports to infiltrate the US market better. For example,  Europe has soccer – so Hublot has Maradona and the US is infamous for basketball, so Hublot has greats like Kobe Bryant. This concept is ingenious because of one factor:  to reach and connect with any demographic, sports are a universal language that can cross any language, culture and age.

Hublot’s objective to link its brand to sports is done well. If you look at a player like Bryant and Wade, you think Strength, power,  high performance, innovators and legends on any court. These characteristics are what classic, luxury brand Hublot try to stand for representing ‘superiority and perseverance’.