Hublot Big Bang Watches

Paris, 24 April 2008 LVMH Mo?t Hennessy Louis Vuitton, the world's leading luxury group, announces that it has signed an agreement to acquire the Hublot group, a top of the range watchmaker enjoying very strong growth. LVMH will acquire Hublot from Mr Carlo Crocco, who founded the group in 1980, and a company controlled by Mr Jean-Claude Biver, who has managed Hublot since 2004. Hublot is a brand that is highly complementary to LVMH's existing watch portfolio comprising TAG Heuer, the world leader in prestigious sport watches and chronographs, the Swiss Watch Manufacturer Zenith, Dior Montres, Louis Vuitton watches sold exclusively in Louis Vuitton stores, and the watch collections of jewellers Chaumet, Fred and De Beers. STRONG GROWTH POTENTIAL Hublot, which has its headquarters and workshops near Geneva, has started building a factory at Nyon to accommodate its expansion plans. Having grown at a rapid pace since 2004, the brand achieved net revenue of more than CHF150 million in 2007 with an excellent profitability. A very significant increase in revenue is expected in 2008. Today, Hublot has a very selective and efficient distribution network which is limited to 300 stores worldwide. Hublot has a well-balanced geographic footprint spanning Switzerland, Spain, France, Germany, the US, Latin America, Middle East, Russia, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore... The brand has recently been launched in China and India and has strong growth potential in Asia, Japan, North America and in certain European markets.EXCEPTIONAL WATCHES AND CHRONOGRAPHS Hublot offers ranges of exceptional quality watches that are innovative, very differentiated and combining fusions of materials, precious metals, (gold, platinum,...) technological metals (titanium, tantalum...), ceramics, diamonds and natural rubber. The renowned Big Bang collection includes models equipped with automatic movements whose prices range from �8,000 (steel and ceramic) to over �300,000, integrating precious metals and technical complexity. A new Big Bang collection for women was launched at the last Basel watch fair with great success. Finally, the traditional classic line has been recently redesigned using natural rubber, zircon, gold and ceramics. Carlo Crocco, founder of Hublot, said : "I am happy that Hublot, an innovative brand since is creation, is joining the LVMH group, the world leader in luxury goods, whose creative passion is without any doubt a value that I have always shared." Jean-Claude Biver, the architect of the success of the Big Bang collection and the recent strong growth of Hublot, commented: "I am delighted that Hublot will be able to benefit from LVMH's support and strategic leadership in the luxury goods industry and so maximise its growth potential in the years to come. I am happy to be pursuing this adventure and to be able to contribute to the development of LVMH's watch*** division alongside Philippe Pascal." Philippe Pascal, Chief Executive Officer of LVMH's Watches & Jewelry business group, added: "Hublot is a strategic and very complementary acquisition. Its high-end positioning, selective distribution, financial performance and growth potential make Hublot a 'rising star'. Hublot will strengthen our Watches & Jewelry business group which, over the last three years, has been growing strongly. We are very happy that Jean-Claude Biver will, along with the management team of Hublot, continue on this remarkable journey and contribute his considerable expertise to our development in this promising sector." About LVMH LVMH Mo?t Hennessy Louis Vuitton is the world's leading luxury goods group. The Group is represented in Wines and Spirits by a portfolio of brands that includes Mo?t & Chandon, Dom P��rignon, Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin, Krug, Ruinart, Chateau d'Yquem, Hennessy, Glenmorangie, Ardbeg, Belvedere Vodka, Chopin, 10 Cane, Chandon, Cloudy Bay, Terrazas de los Andes, Cheval des Andes, Green Point, Cape Mentelle, Newton. Its Fashion and Leather Goods division includes Louis Vuitton, the world's leading luxury brand, as well as Celine, Loewe, Kenzo, Givenchy, Thomas Pink, Fendi, Emilio Pucci, Donna Karan, Marc Jacobs, Berluti, StefanoBi as well as eLUXURY, the authoritative online source for luxury goods on the Internet. LVMH is present in the Perfumes and Cosmetics sector with Parfums Christian Dior, Guerlain, Parfums Givenchy, Parfums Kenzo, Perfumes Loewe as well as other promising cosmetic companies (BeneFit Cosmetics, Make Up For Ever, Acqua di Parma and Fresh). LVMH is also active in selective retailing through DFS, Sephora in Europe and the United States, Le Bon March�� and la Samaritaine. LVMH's Watches and Jewelry division comprises TAG Heuer, Chaumet, Christian Dior Watches, Zenith, Fred and De Beers Diamond Jewellers Limited, a joint venture created with the world's leading diamond group.

The Swiss luxury timepiece maker Hublot is very delighted to continuously associate itself with the world of competitive skiing. In 2010, the brand already established a bond with champion skiers Bode Miller and Dario Cologna, who became its special ambassadors.Hublot was proud to attain a status of the "Official Watch" for the FIS Ski World Championships, not only in the Alpine discipline, but also in Nordic skiing. The competitions will take place in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, from 7th to 20th February 2011, and in Oslo, within the period from 24th February to 6th March 2011.Now, the company initiates its partnership with a skier Maria Riesch, a star of the international women's circuit. The double Olympic champion in the Super Combined and Slalom at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, she won the Gold Medal in the Slalom at the Val d'Isere, 2009 World Championships and is currently considered No. 1 in the FIS classification. The choice of Maria Riesch as Hublot ambassador is fully justified by the main denominators the skier shares with the brand - the winner's mentality. To mark the beginning of this promising collaboration the house has released its new Big Bang 44 mm White Aero Bang Garmisch Limited Edition watch.The issue of the new Hublot watch will be strictly limited to just 250 individually numbered pieces to be available mostly during the World Championships in Garmisch. The model is clearly aimed at ardent fans of competitive skiing.The timepiece comes packaged in a Big Bang vertical satin-finished steel case, which measures 44.5 mm in diameter. A bezel, manufactured from the same material, is bolted down to the case with 6 titanium H-shaped countersunk, polished and locked screws.The watch body demonstrates black composite resin lateral inserts. At 3 o'clock, it features an easy-to-grasp winding crown. Produced from steel, it boasts a black rubber insert. The crown is joined by chronograph push-pieces, located at 2 and 4 o'clock. They are made of satin-finished steel with rectangular black rubber inserts. The water-resistance of the model is assured down to 100 meters. The front part of the case is shielded by a high-grade sapphire crystal with double-sided anti-reflective treatment. The timekeeper is also fitted with an open satin-finished steel case-back.Beneath the top sapphire glass there is a snow-white dial with a skeleton structure. It enables the user to admire the intricate workings of the in-house self-winding mechanical chronograph movement - HUB4214. Embellished with 27 jewels, the heart of the new Big Bang 44 mm White Aero Bang Garmisch Limited Edition watch is composed of 252 individual parts.It incorporates a micro-blasted black chrome main plate and a tungsten oscillating weight, which features a black PVD-treated dimpled su***ce. The architecture of the movement also includes a barrel with a reinforced spring, satin-finished, bevelled and polished bridges as well as black PVD-coated titanium screws. The power reserve, provided by the caliber, constitutes approximately 42 hours.The aforementioned movement breathes life into a set of useful features. Thus, it animates central hours and minutes, displayed by partially transparent satin-finished rhodium-plated hands. They are inlaid with white SuperLuminova to ensure the perfect level of visibility. The watch face also sports a slim chronograph hand with an H counterweight.The hands sweep smoothly over satin-finished rhodium-plated indexes, also highlighted with white SuperLuminova. The minute-track is printed in black.The seconds are indicated in a sub-dial at 9 o'clock. The 30-minute and 12-hour counters are found at 3 and 6 o'clock respectively. The date indication appears in a trapezoid exhibition window at 4.30.The new Hublot watch is teamed with a white alligator and black rubber strap with black stitches. It terminates in Big Bang satin-finished steel deployant buckle.Look through a fine selection of boldly designed Hublot watches: