Jean-Claude Beaver is a figure familiar to many who are interested in the modern watch market. He is the executive director of the watch company Hublot, known for its unique large rubber watch. In less than five years at Hublot, Jean-Claude managed to bring this watch brand to the level of recognized world leaders, and the company's sales volumes increased significantly. It is no coincidence that within the framework of the largest Middle East watch and jewelry exhibition Jewelery Arabia 2008, his merits were re-noted, now in the nomination "The best leader of a watch company" (by the way, this nomination was invented specifically for awarding Mr. Beaver).
Earlier at the same exhibition in 2005, the famous Big Bang chronograph was celebrated as "The Best Large Size Watch." Other creations of the company, which is now led by Beaver, are also owners of many international awards. We met with Jean-Claude Beaver the day after the award ceremony at the most beautiful hotel in Manama - Ritz Carlton, to talk again about watches and about people who can create them ...
Mr. Beaver, this is not our first meeting with you, let me congratulate you on the award of such a prestigious exhibition as Jewelery Arabia 2008. Tell me, how do you manage to remain on top of success for so many years?
I don’t think it’s easy, but we were able to succeed because we have the right people. What do I mean by the right people? First of all, these are people with experience. Secondly, these are people who are able to work 20 hours a day. Thirdly, these are people who are able to provide a huge number of services. And we also have people who are very talented and able to create something that would never occur to anyone else.
I believe that in this life you should be either the first, or unique, or not like the others. If you are not the first and not unique, and are no different from the rest - forget about business. People in our company always strive to be unique, but most importantly, to be the first. And when you work in the midst of such people, usually everything happens as planned. How come I am surrounded by all these people? This I must ask the Lord, he gave them to me. It was his idea, but today people are my biggest asset. They help me, give critical advice and express their points of view. So the only thing left for me to do is to thank all of them. Therefore, the award should not have been addressed to me, it deservedly belongs to everyone who works with me. We started together with some of them in 1976. Others joined me in 1982, others in 1988, and so on. Today we are one big family. And if we deserve recognition and reward, then we deserve them together.
Just some kind of club turns out ...
And we really are a club. When you have been working with people for 30 years, not on one brand, but on different ones, because we started at Omega or Swatch Group (it was later born the Hublot brand), then this is still the same club or, in other words, a team that together it moves from one brand to another. So I'm talking to you now, and I need to use my voice, and when I speak with my team, I do not need this. We understand each other from a semi-glance, we can read and transmit thoughts from a distance.
What do you draw inspiration for your ideas? Hublot watches are very recognizable and markedly different from many other brands on the market ...
The birth of an idea is always a difficult process. But every time we see something, we do not accept it as it is, but ask ourselves the question - how can this be done by others? This is what children do all the time. The child has no experience. When a small person looks at, say, a flower, he may perhaps see it for the first time. He will definitely ask his parents why this flower, for example, is of such a color or shape. When we become adults, we no longer ask ourselves such questions, but we no longer see the world as we did in childhood. You can sit around this flower all day, and not even notice it. And he will not give the child peace, and the baby will ask you a million questions. This is the desire to create, a certain obsession with creativity. At Hublot, we have not lost our childish perception of the world. In order to start creating, you need to forget that you are an adult. Throw back your past experience and regain the child. All your education is a framework imposed by a school or university, they are not needed. The school takes away from the child all its naivety and spontaneity, and drives it into the generally accepted framework. And a person, still small, ceases to be himself, becoming a certain cell or unit. Only artists are able to go beyond the boundaries of structure, be free and look at the world through the eyes of children. We do the same, which means we draw inspiration from everything that surrounds us. We are unstructured people, so the desire to change what we see immediately arises in our heads. This is our philosophy - never to take anything on faith, always ask questions and try to translate the meaning of objects into another language or in another form. Only from the point of view of upbringing and generally accepted ethics, you need to be normal, that is, not to lie, respect others, help and share with your neighbor, but in everything else, you need to destroy stereotypes and create something that no one has created before you. My rule is no rules. When you think this way, you know where to draw strength from.
Where do you find people who can think outside the box?
It is difficult to find extraordinary people, but it is impossible to train artificially. They are already born talented. My secret is that I am passionately passionate about my work, and the people working near me are easily imbued with my obsession. It is very important. In many other companies, directors look only at the marketing side of the business and at the volumes of profit, but I’m interested in the whole process of creating watches - from beginning to end. I’m honestly a big kid (laughs). And so I am happy.
Today it is already very difficult to surprise anyone and anything, people are accustomed to the achievements of technological progress. You manage to create watches that continue to delight even industry professionals ...
If you do not strive to create something new, then you can drop out of business. It’s normal, every year in Basel or Geneva to present new products that are interesting both in terms of external aesthetics and from the inside. This is an ongoing process.
And where is the limit?
There is no limit; in my opinion, it can only be a departure from life. We always think about what will happen tomorrow. Everything in this life is possible while you are alive, but when you are gone, others will come and do their own thing.
In this case, what can we expect from the Hublot brand at subsequent international watch exhibitions?
Continuation of creativity and innovation, continuation of emotions, dreams and all shades of creativity, and even continued joy. In the end, for this we are doing our craft.
Your famous Big Bang collection is very courageous, as well as other Hublot models. Tell me, do you produce watch lines specifically for women?
There are no female models in the Big Bang collection, but, oddly enough, some women are happy to wear them. We have recently launched special women's collections with colored gems and diamonds, but we are still more focused on men. I’ll tell you what, jeans are also men's clothing, but women all over the world wear them. Some colors are also considered more masculine than feminine. But today's women no longer need the 100% attributes inherent in the tender young ladies of the past and the last century to emphasize their femininity. Women today are doing men's work — they are lawyers, pilots, and doctors. Today, many frames have erased, and it is not necessary for a lady to wear a skirt so that everyone can see how feminine she is. If a woman likes to be weak and emphasize it in every way - good, if strong - also good. The rules do not exist. There is a social framework, but, thank God, women today have become more free and liberated, in every sense.
Even in the Middle East?
Yes, even here. At different speeds, but the framework is being destroyed, stereotypes are coming to naught. Eastern women, too, have become more free, they work in different fields - from public service to private enterprises.
How important is the current exhibition of watches and jewelery in Bahrain for your company?
We participate in this show annually. Even on the first day of the current Jewelery Arabia 2008 exhibition, I can say that it is absolutely successful for the Hublot brand. From early morning we had a lot of visitors at the stand, we made good sales. For example, in the morning our regular customer flew from Qatar and purchased two watches from the new collection.
And this is in the conditions of the financial crisis that everyone is talking about?
You know, the crisis, it seems to me, mostly lives in the heads of people and on the pages of newspapers. Of course, banks, financial institutions and insurance companies today have faced many problems, but this does not mean that people who work in factories, bake bread or sew shoes, have the same problems. It is necessary to distinguish between the crisis of the financial and stock markets and what is happening in the real economy and different sectors of production. In our segment, the same buyers remained as before. I am referring to wealthy, market-oriented luxury people. If one of them disappears, the other immediately appears in its place. Money just does the cycle in the world.
Are there many Russian clients among wealthy people and fans of your watches?
A lot, especially in Dubai, where we have our own boutique. We sell a small number of watches in Moscow. Now we are starting to sell in Qatar and Abu Dhabi, but most, of course, are in Dubai. Our corporate website, launched in 2007, helps us a lot, where people can get acquainted with the latest innovations and place an order, especially with regard to the limited series, which are issued in runs of 100 copies. And given that the list of our regular customers totals about 450 people, you can imagine what kind of a “line” is being built for new products. Thus, we constantly maintain interest in the Hublot brand.
Russian customers always need new items, and only those watches that are unique and not like the others. The requirements of Russian customers are fully consistent with the philosophy of Hublot. Such customers always want to be themselves, not imitate someone. In addition, Russians are well versed in watches, and often know exactly which model they need. In this they differ from the Americans. And if in Russia there are 100 millionaires, 95 of them love and wear a good watch. This is a sign of their status. If there are 100 millionaires in America, only 5 of them will wear a watch, the rest is not important. Therefore, despite the crisis, on December 4, 2008, I opened my first Hublot boutique in the Moscow Central Department Store.
Then, with confidence I can say that we will see you again. And it is likely that this will happen in Moscow.
Why not? We will meet for sure.
