A shortened career break drew together tradition and modernism to create a watch hailed as Hublot's greatest achievement
When Jean-Claude Biver left one watch brand at the end of 2003, he did not count on meeting Carlo Crocco, the creator of the Hublot brand, so soon into the year-long sabbatical he intended to take.
But meet they did and within four months Mr Biver had taken up position as chief executive at Hublot. He got to work on a watch that has become his biggest horological achievement to date, as well as Hublot's greatest success so far.
The Big Bang crashed into the limelight at the Basel fair two years ago - a year after Mr Biver took up his post. It has since won numerous design awards and seven new interpretations of the watch were launched at this year's fair.
Mr Biver said the Big Bang marked his proudest professional achievement because he believed the watch would launch a new trend. 'For Hublot it is for sure the biggest winning product the brand has ever had,' he said. 'With Big Bang, Hublot will be remembered as the first fusion in watchmaking art.'
Carlo Crocco was innovative in his pairing of a gold porthole watch with a rubber bracelet 27 years ago. And Hublot's guiding principle under its chief executive is fusion: of unusual materials and movements combining Swiss watchmaking tradition with 21st century vision.