Hublot Watches Review – Inventive Style and Great Quality

Hublot Watches – Edgy Design; Great Quality

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Hublot watches - Classic FusionIt’s possible that you’re unfamiliar with Hublot watches unless you’re simply a fan or collector of quality timepieces.  The company is relatively new; it’s a Swiss firm that was founded in 1980 by an Italian with an eye for both design and quality.

Hublot watches quickly established themselves as a leader of well-made timepieces with both traditional and edgy, in-your-face designs.  It’s an interesting combination that has allowed the company to set themselves apart from other, long-established Swiss watchmakers, many of whom have been in business for more than a century.

Now owned by the Louis Vuitton group, Hublot now offers more than 100 different models with a wide variety of designs, materials and movements, making them appealing to a large segment of the population that admires either precision or style.

Read on for the full Hublot watches review.


Build Quality
Movements
Innovation
Styling and Features
Care and Maintenance
Warranty
Prices
Where to Buy
Summary

Hublot Watches Build Quality

If you’re going to compete with the big boys of Swiss watchmaking, such as Rolex or Omega, you’re going to have to think big and offer quality, and this brand delivers.  Their models are typically water resistant to 100 meters or more.

They use rock-hard sapphire crystal, and Swiss-made mechanical, automatic and quartz movements.  They offer a wide variety of rugged case materials, including carbon fiber, ceramic, gold, titanium and stainless steel.   These are extra-durable timepieces that should last for decades with proper care.

Movements

All of the movements are Swiss-made and most of their models have a mechanical movement of some sort.  Most are automatic, but a few are manually wound and a few use highly accurate quartz electronic movements.  They even offer a handful of models containing a tourbillon, a complex mechanism designed to keep the watch maintaining accurate time while overcoming the negative effects of gravity on the timepiece.

These are elaborate and expensive mechanisms that most watchmakers, even the high end ones, simply don’t bother to incorporate into their products.  Models containing a tourbillon mechanism display them; you’ll be able to see it through an opening in the face of the watch.

Innovation

You’ll find a number of innovative features, from using the seldom-employed tourbillon to incorporating such new materials as ceramic and carbon fiber into their case designs.  These are highly elaborate and complex mechanical devices and many of their models have a skeleton design to show off the inner works.

Equally innovative is their design; their Ferrari model uses a series of visible rotating cylinders to display the time, rather than traditional hands.  It’s not a watch for everyone, but that’s part of what makes the brand special.

Click here to shop for Hublot watches at Amazon.com

Styling and Features

Hublot watches - Big Bang Pop ArtYou’ll find the styling to be pretty adventurous, ranging from sports models to borderline avant-garde.  Among the more than 100 models they offer are those with visible skeleton movements, crazy “pop art” colors, oddly shaped cases and a variety of case colors and movement options.

You can go with gold, stainless steel, titanium or carbon fiber.  Colors range from the understated silvers, golds and blacks to bright, attention getting greens and pinks.  Most models appear to be either for men or unisex; they really don’t make watches specifically for women.

These watches are guaranteed to draw attention anywhere you go.  The company makes many watches in limited editions; these are often produced in quantities of as few as 50 pieces, making them rare as soon as they are offered for sale.

Care and Maintenance

As complex mechanical timepieces, Hublot watches require a bit more maintenance than your average wristwatch.  The company recommends a servicing every 3-5 years, which involves disassembly, cleaning, lubrication, replacement of worn parts, and testing for both accuracy and water resistance.  You should have the water resistance checked every two years or so if you regularly wear your timepiece in or around water.

If you use it in or near salt water, you should rinse it with tap water and dry it carefully afterwards.   Quartz models will require battery replacement every two years or so.  Otherwise, you should store your watch away from extremes of temperature and away from caustic chemicals.   Models with automatic movements should be stored in a watch winder to keep it working properly and maintaining accurate time.

Hublot Watches Warranty

When you purchase, you’ll receive a two year factory warranty against defects in materials and workmanship.  This is about average for most watchmakers.  Genuine factory defects are quite rare and will probably become apparent rather soon after purchase.  We’re uncertain, but the factory service that the company recommends for their watches every 3-5 years probably comes with a warranty of its own.

Prices

Hublot watches - Big Bang UnicoNot surprisingly, prices vary from moderately expensive to extremely expensive, depending on case materials and whether the model is part of a limited edition.

We’ve seen models priced at about $7000 to start, but they can easily reach the high five figure mark, with some timepieces priced in excess of $50,000.

Collectors love Hublot watches; despite the fact that the company isn’t that old, prices for older items and limited edition items can increase significantly with time.  We’re not sure if anyone is investing in limited edition models, but one shouldn’t be surprised to see their purchase appreciate in value over time.

Where to Buy

As with many luxury brands, these watches are sold at a number of company-owned boutiques (there are 50 worldwide as of this writing) and a few select retailers, which consist mostly of high end jewelry stores and high end department stores.

The company is fairly strict about distribution and pricing of their products, so it can be difficult, though not impossible, to buy at a discount. A few online retailers carry them, but not many.

As the product line is rather extensive and many of their models are limited edition items, it’s unlikely that any single retailer is going to have everything the company currently offers in stock at one time.  You may have to shop around a bit if you’re looking for something in particular.

Hublot Watches Summary

It can be hard to distinguish yourself among the competition, particularly in an industry with long established big name manufacturers.  Hublot watches have managed to do that, by combining incredible build quality, a nice selection of innovative features, and astonishing designs.  Their models aren’t inexpensive, but then again, if you show up at a social event wearing one, you’ll draw the attention of everyone in attendance.   If you like quality and cutting edge style, Hublot watches will be perfect for you.

Click here to shop for Hublot watches at Amazon.com