Making his vision happen took four years and $4 million, some of
which was Crocco's, the rest borrowed from banks. Crocco spared
no expense creating the right product. He built a small factory and
hired a battalion of top Swiss designers to execute his ideas.
In 1980, Crocco's creation was born, and MDM Geneve was
formed. He dubbed his watch the Hublot (it means
"porthole" in French) and introduced it at
Switzerland's prestigious Basel watch fair. "The
watch's nautical theme implies adaptability," says
Crocco.
"Most handcrafted luxury watches are heavy and meant to be
worn only on special occasions," explains Michael Goldstein,
vice president of MDM America Inc. "But the Hublot's most
distinctive feature is that it can be worn at state dinners or the
opera, yet is also suitable for playing golf and deep-sea diving.
This made it unique."
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Guaranteed to be water-resistant to a depth of 165 feet (and up
to 1,000 feet for professional divers' watches), the Hublot was
made to take a beating. But the watch's most distinctive
feature, according to Crocco, is its band. It's not made of
gold, silver, leather or exotic skins like lizard or ostrich.
It's made of rubber.
The idea struck Crocco on a flight from Paris to Geneva.
"Absentmindedly, I began to color in my watchband with a black
[felt-tip pen]," he says. "When I realized what I was
doing, I loved the effect. I knew a black strap would smartly
complement the black dial of several of my models and also contrast
strikingly with the dials of other models without competing with
the timepiece's lines."
Yet Crocco quickly discovered great ideas are easy to come by
but difficult to execute. He estimates it took almost $1 million in
research and development costs to come up with the perfect rubber
watchband. In the end, though, it was money well spent. The results
were startling and revolutionary.
Crocco developed a tempered rubber that is virtually
indestructible. "Unlike conventional metal and leather bands,
[the Hublot band] is resistant to chemical deterioration," he
says. "It absorbs body oils and conforms to the shape of the
wearer's wrist. And it has zero weight, making it ideal for
sports and virtually any activity."
The biggest challenge: inserting steel plates into the ultrathin
strap to hold the watch securely. When all was completed, the
lightweight timepiece and sleek black rubber watchband added up to
an exquisite watch that retails for $2,500 to $60,000. Precious
stones knock the price up considerably.
Clearly, Crocco was breaking the rules-and at first, many
snobbish watch dealers thought the rubber watchband was heresy.
Eventually, however, the watchband came to be viewed as a key to
Crocco's personality, a symbol of the reason he went off on his
own. Wrote one journalist, "The rubber strap captures
Crocco's penchant for originality and endurance, his contrary
nature and his zest for bucking tradition."
Unique as the finished product is, Crocco was ready to pull his
hair out when no one showed up the day he debuted his watch at the
1980 Basel watch fair. "I was nervous, to say the least,"
he chuckles. Like any anxious entrepreneur who has just invested
years of his life and a pile of money, he began entertaining second
thoughts. Was his watch too far-out for the world's top watch
dealers? Or maybe the Hublot was too far ahead of its time.
Thankfully, Crocco's anxiety was short-lived. The second day
of the fair, a few people trickled in. By the third day,
Crocco's little booth was buzzing with activity. It took a
while for dealers and buyers to discover the Hublot, but once they
did, the elegant timepiece became an immediate topic of
conversation.
"That was the beginning of the story," Crocco says.
Orders followed as the Hublot turned in a stunning debut
performance. But the real work lay ahead. The next and most
critical step was marketing the product. Although first-year sales
hit a respectable $2 million, Crocco wanted more. "It's a
good feeling knowing you have a unique watch," he says,
"but if you can't break into the luxury watch market,
you're doomed."
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