At a distance, the black chopper's blades echo through the valley and against the rocks of the last of the Bernese Oberland mountains, plunging in a cliff-like fashion onto Saanen's airport, one of the entryways (and certainly the most exclusive) to the world-famous Swiss village of Gstaad, a mere 5 kilometers away. The helicopter shares its territory with an ever-present fleet of private jets, one of them, a Falcon 6X, open for tours today.
Photo: Cécile Christmann
Photo: Cécile Christmann
Photo: Cécile Christmann
It is indeed an unusual day on the tarmac as the airfield enclave has opened its usually hyper-secure and private perimeter to the whole village, as well as to another kind of guest: about 100 spectacular thoroughbreds, their dark athletic coats shimmering under the Helvetian sun and in what is probably one of the most scenic polo championships in Europe, the Hublot Polo Gold Cup. The championship's instantly recognizable Swiss background and its top-notch organization make it extra-special in the world of sports events, with a hospitality curated and managed by none other than the iconic Gstaad Palace, whose head chefs are serving rather picturesque cheese platters as well as the traditional meringues with alpine berries on top of crème double. The hotel, where personalities like Sophia Loren or Roger Moore used to stay, also has a mini, inflatable replica of its building bouncing on the airport grounds for the weekend.
It is in this natural and pristine landscape of typical Swiss manufacture that Hublot has been a major player since 2007. On top of being the Cup's main and eponymous sponsor, the Nyon-based brand also supports a polo team (this year constituted of one German and three Argentine players) out of the four playing the tournament, and comes back every year to compete for the end trophy. Sporting the Hublot light blue jerseys against teams such as "Gstaad Palace" or "Albinati Aeronautics," they made for a photogenic and striking contrast against the vivid green grass and the pure blue sky.
Photo: Hublot
Photo: Hublot
Photo: Hublot
This year, Hublot has taken summer to its literal sense, showing six "Big Bang" models boasting striking assemblages of pastel colors in either polychrome (for the multicolored 42mm and 44mm) or monochrome versions (in either mint green, peach or petrol blue for the 33mm), the multicolored pieces worked in microblasted and polished ceramic, the 33mm trio in polished ceramic. This soft edulcoration can seem a bit understated or at least more discreet than the regular specifications usually associated with the model, yet still feels über-luxurious when applied to its widely known shape and format. Its lightness, and the practicality of both its dial and strap, were particularly suited to a sporting summer weekend, and I could have easily seen myself handling the reins with a watch that simultaneously mixes with the surrounding natural colors but also stands out in the crowd of maybe more traditional models.
On top of a "standard," non-limited offering for a dual tone titanium peach 42mm, Hublot has released two limited editions in a careful three-tones association: a Unico flyback chronograph, as well as an automatic Tourbillon, in runs of 200 and 10 pieces. The pale sky blue, mint and pink tones feel simultaneously playful and sensible applied to a rather serious and prestigious watch, and can attract both men and women, as those colors mix easily with perhaps a younger generation's idea of style or casual luxury. For example, it matched quite perfectly with my candy pink Casablanca shirt… that I had bought in the men's section. And if those colors are meant to recall Mediterranean sun-washed hues, we are also very well capable of imagining the same watch only five months from now in the same (but snowcapped) Saanenland landscape.
