The Defy Lab: Approaching Zenith
Fusion is defined as a cellular process in which single nucleus cells combine to form a multi-cellular entity. It is the basis on which living creatures grow larger, stronger and more powerful. For more than four decades, Jean-Claude Biver has proven himself the master of nuclear fusion — he is an unrivaled Jedi in the art of uniting watch brands with the ever-expanding, diverse, specialized universes that collectively make up the tapestry of contemporary culture.
You could say that Hublot is Biver’s masterpiece of fusion. With Hublot, he transformed first what a watch looked like, making it a shimmering symbol of modernity, then proceeded to radically redefine the worlds a watch brand could attach itself to at a cellular level. Like football, where Hublot was the official timekeeper of the World Cup. Like music, where Hublot was the first watch brand to create a watch in collaboration with Depeche Mode. Hublot was everywhere, even appearing on Floyd “Money” Mayweather’s trunks when he fought Manny Pacquiao.
To quote Walt Whitman, Hublot is “large, it contains multitudes”. It passes through innumerable worlds, through the blood-brain barrier, it smashes through the walls of impulse control and is made manifest on wrists of uncountable individuals around the world. Music, sports, auto racing, graffiti, tattoo culture… The seemingly endless universes were
