Carlo Crocco grew up in a family of watchmakers in Italy and in 1980 defied convention by creating a solid gold Hublot fitted with the first black strap in natural rubber and a sensation was born.

The brand has many successes in the 1980s but when watch industry genius Jean Claude Biver joined the firm in 2004 a phenomena was born. The Big Bang series of watches have become one of the hottest watches in the world and demand so far outstrips supply that numerous models sell at a premium above retail when they can be found at all.