BASELWORLD IS, in essence, a sales convention, where watchmakers compete furiously with each other for space and attention. The stars of the show are, of course, the watches, and brands do everything imaginable to entice fairgoers to look at their latest designs - all of which makes Hublot's marketing approach all the more confounding.
Unlike other brands at the fair, Hublot's latest collection was not on display to the general public. Instead, the company's creations were concealed in a series of opaque glass cases along the outside of its colossal sales booth. Only select visitors were invited to see what was inside - a smart card (similar to the Octopus Card) was placed next to the cabinets and the smoked glass would suddenly clear just long enough for them to get a good look at the design.
Hublot's chief executive officer, Jean-Claude Biver, explained the rationale behind the unconventional move.
'We wanted to create some noise, curiosity and interest,' he said. 'The best way to do that is to hide it. Anything that is hidden, anything that is forbidden, suddenly becomes very attractive.'
So what was hidden inside the cases? The centrepiece of Hublot's new collection is an unashamedly masculine and sporty mechanical watch that combines contemporary materials such as carbon fibre, ceramic and Kevlar with classic rose or white gold. It is a watch that isn't shy about blowing its own trumpet, and that is reflected in its name: Big Bang. Mr Biver said the watch had drawn an overwhelming response.
'The Big Bang is making a really big bang,' he said. 'It lets you know just what can be done.'