Exclusive: You may soon be able to buy a Hublot watch using cryptocurrency

Hublot’s CEO Ricardo Guadalupe has confirmed in an exclusive interview with Gulf Business that plans are afoot to build a platform whereby customers will be able to purchase its creations using cryptocurrency.

“We’re working on an online project where you can buy your watch using cryptocurrency. It’s a project we will launch this year,” said Guadalupe.

This is not the first time that the Nyon-headquartered brand has dabbled in cryptocurrency or the blockchain ecosystem.

In 2018, it showcased a Big Bang Meca-10 P2P timepiece that could only be purchased using Bitcoins.

“We already did a series of watches that was the paid with Bitcoins a few years ago in Hong Kong. It was with a financial company that was specialising in Bitcoins. We sold 200 pieces, but it was only [available] to the Bitcoin [community], so this watch was not accessible to the traditional [retail] network,” added Guadalupe.

However, the new platform looks set to allow cryptocurrency as a regular mode of payment for watches, although Guadalupe did not offer any additional details as to whether all watches across its portfolio will be available for sale on the new platform, nor on the pricing mechanism. No light was shed on the type of cryptocurrencies that would serve as a valid mode of payment either.

Making a greater case for the blockchain based platform, Hublot introduced an e-warranty blockchain-based platform for its watches last year. The e-warranty authenticates and stores data regarding the entire lifecycle of a timepiece including its production, sale, and any resale to effectively combat the counterfeit market.

If the upcoming platform does go ahead as planned, it will make Hublot the first Swiss high-end watchmaker to offer a dedicated mechanism to purchase watches using digital money.

Stay tuned for the full video of our exclusive interview with Ricardo Guadalupe and also read all about it in our April edition