Set Sail! Hublot’s Yacht Club de Monaco

Hublot Watch Company, one of the hottest brands on the planet, recently announced that they will be the official timekeepers of the upcoming America’s Cup sailing race, to take place in beautiful San Francisco CA. This announcement comes on the heels of Hublot’s much publicized timing sponsorship of the World Cup soccer tournament last year. Hublot’s inventive and far reaching marketing campaigns have made its “Big Bang” model one of the most highly recognized in high end horology.

Sailing is a sport that attracts a great deal of attention in the watch industry and Hublot has been active in promoting this connection. Currently Hublot is one of the main sponsors of the Alinghi sailing team, one of the best known and formidable in the world. It has also been a major sponsor since 2005 of the Monaco Yacht Club and its annual regatta, “The Monaco Classic Week.” To honor this longstanding partnership as well mark the 10th anniversary of the Regatta, Hublot recently released a new limited edition chronograph titled “The Yacht Club de Monaco.”

This new 45 mm watch is aesthetically interesting on several fronts. The titanium case is accented with a brushed titanium bezel, which creates an appealing contrast to the typical high-polish finish seen on most bezels. The dial is a cobalt blue with a matching blue alligator leather strap for elegant occasions and a black rubber strap for more sporty ones. The chronograph counters are plated in rhodium, allowing them to contrast nicely with the main dial. The alligator leather has been stitched to a rubber backing to make the watch more resistant to the salt water it should theoretically encounter.

The watch is only being produced in a limited number series of 250 pieces and the official flag of the club appears on the lower half of the watch face. This feature is reminiscent of the many flags portrayed on other sailing oriented models produced by manufacturers such as Corum, and it adds a nice detail to the piece.

The big question mark that surrounds all chronographs is the movement that the watchmaker chooses to use. Chronographs are typically “lazy” timekeepers because power that was meant for the main movement is often diverted to run the chronograph function. To counter this common limitation, Hublot recently acquired a movement manufacturer to create custom-designed watch movements. This watch is fitted with the HUB 1143 self-winding chronograph movement which is not a new development of their recent acquisition, but a well known hybrid utilized by many well known watchmakers.

The HUB 1143 has a base movement developed by ETA (one of the largest movement suppliers in the world). To that, Hublot has fitted a Dubois Depraz chronograph module that sits on top of the base movement and has a reputation for being accurate and very durable. With this combination, Hublot has utilized a reliable movement combination that should perform well over time.

Over all the watch is aesthetically interesting and pleasing to the touch and to the wrist. The small addition of the yachting colors adds a subtle detail that will make for some good conversation, but it’s the rich blue color of the face and strap, along with its robust size and brushed titanium bezel, that will truly attract the attention of others.

Luckily for Golf & Lifestyle readers a new Hublot boutique has opened in Southern California. The boutique, located in Beverly Hills at 9470 Brighton Way, should have this new model available to experience in person along with most of the models in the Hublot line. The new boutique is one of only four in the country and since it sits on the same block as four other watch boutiques, it should be well worth the trip.