A unique player in the world of luxury watchmaking

From the very beginning, Hublot made waves by combining gold and rubber — a bold fusion that would become its signature.

Today, the brand continues to break the mold, driven by its Research & Development department led by Mathias Buttet. In this video, he takes us behind the scenes of innovation at Hublot.

The pursuit of new materials lies at the heart of the brand’s identity: ultra-resistant and now colorful ceramics, sapphires, Magic Gold... Every creation reflects exceptional expertise and a constant desire to redefine watchmaking.

Why is Magic Gold so magical?

Magic Gold was developed by Hublot in collaboration with EPFL (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne). The goal was to create an 18-carat gold that is virtually scratch-resistant, combining the prestige of gold with the extreme durability of high-tech materials.
To achieve this, Hublot fused pure gold with a boron carbide-based composite — one of the hardest materials in the world, commonly used in military armor.

The process begins with the creation of a mold made from porous ceramic, into which the boron carbide is compacted and sintered to form a rigid, perforated structure. This structure is then infiltrated under high pressure with 24-carat liquid gold, filling the micro-cavities of the material.

The result is a certified 18-carat hybrid gold with a hardness of approximately 1000 Vickers—compared to just 400 for traditional gold. This patented process gives rise to a metal that is noble, innovative, and nearly indestructible.

A ceramic in vivid colors

Hublot has developed a groundbreaking process to create high-resistance ceramic in vivid, saturated colors—a feat never before achieved in watchmaking. Typically, colored pigments cannot withstand the extreme heat required to produce dense and durable ceramic. As a result, Hublot had to completely reinvent the manufacturing process.

The key to this innovation lies in the use of a low-temperature sintering technique under high pressure, which preserves the intensity of the pigments while ensuring exceptional ceramic strength. The final material has a homogeneous structure, a glossy surface without any post-treatment, and a hardness of around 1500 Vickers—surpassing that of steel.

This technique has allowed Hublot to introduce never-before-seen ceramic colors, such as vibrant red and deep blue, which do not fade over time and are resistant to light exposure and scratches.

The transparency of sapphire as an aesthetic and technical signature

This exceptional material — created through the fusion and crystallization of aluminum oxide — combines absolute transparency with extreme hardness. Thanks to a process mastered entirely in-house, Hublot is able to produce sapphire blocks of exceptional purity, perfectly suited to the demands of haute horlogerie.

Transforming a raw sapphire block into a watch case is a major technical challenge. Each component is cut, machined, and polished using diamond tools. This meticulous craftsmanship ensures perfectly flat, transparent surfaces with no optical distortion, offering a clear and undistorted view of the movement from any angle.

Beyond its technical complexity, the sapphire case delivers a unique visual experience. The interior of the watch — from the dial to the smallest gear — is revealed with stunning clarity.