SINGAPORE – After Mr Julien Tornare took the helm at Hublot in January 2024, he coined a phrase that encapsulates his vision for the Swiss watch brand: Hublot 4.0.

More than just a playful nod to being Hublot’s fourth chief executive and a tribute to his predecessors, it also signals the next chapter in its evolution, one the 53-year-old Swiss is eager to shape.

Hublot’s story began in 1980 with Mr Carlo Crocco, an Italian visionary who introduced a watch that fused gold cases with natural rubber straps – an audacious combination that redefined luxury timepieces and quickly found favour among celebrities.

Then came Mr Jean-Claude Biver, the industry legend credited with reviving Blancpain and Omega.

In 2004, he took over a stagnant Hublot and injected it with fresh energy. One of his first moves was launching the Big Bang series in 2005, a game changer that blended high-tech materials with avant-garde design. Under Mr Biver’s leadership, Hublot joined the LVMH luxury empire in 2008.

Fellow Swiss Ricardo Guadalupe, who had worked closely with Mr Biver, took over in 2012. His tenure was marked by global expansion and deeper investments in innovation, cementing Hublot’s position as a powerhouse in the luxury watch industry.

Fast forward to 2024. Eight months after leaving Zenith to become head honcho of Tag Heuer, Mr Tornare received an unexpected call from Mr Frederic Arnault, LVMH’s then newly appointed head of watches. The offer? The top job at Hublot.

Asked if he was surprised by the offer, he says in his crisp Swiss-accented English. “Yes and no. I wasn’t expecting the change to happen so quickly, but I always knew I was a good fit for Hublot.”

Although he requested two days to mull over the offer, he had made up his mind on the spot. “It took mere seconds to decide,” says Mr Tornare, who was in town recently for a visit. “When you feel connected, you just know.”

Comfortably ensconced in a sofa at the Hublot boutique in Marina Bay Sands, the economics graduate from the University of Geneva is known in the watch industry as a “transformer”. It is a fitting title.

At Zenith, he took annual sales from 80 million Swiss francs (S$121 million) when he started in 2017 to more than 120 million Swiss francs when he left in 2023.

His goal at Hublot? To rediscover the magic that made it an icon.

“I want to bring back that sense of excitement. Hublot has always been about...