Why are Hublot watches so hated?

I’m not sure either. They aren’t for me, but there are a few out there that I think are pretty cool. 

I actually saw this YouTube video of this Irish watch reviewer/ retailer. They ranked watches in terms of elite good average bad and hublot (in that order) 😂

nico! that dude is insane! I love watching his channel

Haha that’s right. I think the channels something pinion. They are bloody brilliant. 

Hey there!

I have a long-winded, but what I think is a truly fascinating observation about "signaling socioeconomic status (SES)" and the implications for different brands.

TLDR; All human beings love to signal status, and "conspicuous consumption" today actually signals middle class status, so those with high SES love to poop on brands that scream conspicuous consumption.  But, who cares?  Just buy what you love!

• All social animals engage in signaling, and the more the social animal is able to signal high SES, the more successful that animal will be in evolutionary competition
• With homo sapiens, the house you live in, the car you drive, the clothes you wear - and now more importantly the services and experiences you consume - all signal your SES
• Once upon a time, when material goods were very expensive and only the highest status /  richest could afford those material goods, conspicuous consumption was the way to signal - think of the 1950's, where which blender you owned was the single most important way for you to show how high class you were
• Today, in America, per capita GDP is sooooooooo high that the middle class can afford nearly any manufactured good, and that manufactured product will be of incredibly high quality
• So, since nearly everyone in the middle class can afford any nice manufactured product, conspicuous consumption no longer signals high SES - so what's a high SES / rich person to do???
• You pay for INSANELY expensive services and experiences - these are things that the middle class cannot possibly afford

Amongst the "meritocratic elite" and rich I know, to buy and wear an expensive watch is akin to having leprosy.  In fact, I have to hide the fact that I love watches - I tell everyone in my social circles that all my watches are Chinese reps.  Because only the misguided, the benighted, and the foolish would ever WASTE thousands of dollars on frivolous material goods.  My god!  If you do so, you've bought into "consumer culture"!  (Say it with as much disdain and contempt as possible.)  Meanwhile, these same folks have no qualms about spending $80k/year on private school for their kids, $50k/year on a live-in nanny / personal assistant, and $20k/child for 8-week sleep-away summer camp in New England.  So, $10k Rolex Explorer on your wrist?  Gauche!  Bust out the $3k bottle of Petrus from the wine cellar?  Ah, the height of sophistication!

Hublot (and Richard Mille and several others) makes no qualms whatsoever about being 100% in-your-face conspicuous consumption.  Therefore, it's hated.  Think of Zenith under Thierry Nataf - same thing, same hatred.

I think the key is to simply ignore all that and just buy what you love.  But, easier said than done.  😉

I think the hate it gets in social media mainly comes from the follow two:
1. Retail prices are too high. While Hublot is a luxury brand and competes in both innovation and finishing, even their simplest models with third party movements comes at a hefty sum. The market mirrors this and Hublot are therefore possible to pick up heavily discounted on the secondary market or grey market. This in itself is not rare but it's simply cranked up above reason for most. Retail prices are simply too far away from the perceived value.

2. When paying tens of thousands, originality is usually wished for. Hublot has a tendency of shamelessly borrow the designs of other popular watch brands such as AP and Richard Mille. Most luxury brands (yes not all, I'm looking at you Zenith) value creating a unique design. Hublot seems to think borrowing design is fine as long as the watch is of high quality. Some might agree, some might not. 

Hublot IS objectively great when it comes to both innovation and finishing, but I'd still claim your money is better spent elsewhere from a value standpoint. 

Pretty much they are well over priced for non in house  movement watches , they lie about using in-house movements when in actual fact they modify Selitas and ETA’s. the celebs that you see wearing them are given them. Their pricing is just ridiculous. But listen I know people like them and as a company they look like they are doing alright!;)
I must say though the Big Bang looks a nice watch;) 

i liked hublots till social media pointed out their flaws. Ex the screws arnt aligned even in 10k watch or that they charge for the marketing cost n not actual value of the watch. 

I agree with many of the above comments on Hublot’s inherent value as watches and why watch snobs scoff at them. But I think JCB and Hublot are great because they make no excuses for what he set out to do: design good (not great) watches that would SELL. He’s probably the best ever marketer in the business, he designed cases/materials/movements to be made by machines in a modular fashion to support his goals as a businessman (somewhat similar to RMs). For that he gained my respect, and i quite like some of the designs - although the flashy status and celebrity hype will likely keep me away for a while longer

Its quite easy to say overpriced etc etc.

Do some research and understand the in house calibre in a fly back chrono for GBP 13k (big bang unico) represents good value. Equivalent rubber sports model from AP is 30k

Frankly, I've never seen a more overpriced watch brand than Hublot. It's a scandal - watches with jejune movements redubbed selling for literally thousands more than they could possibly be worth. No excuse for it, unless you're gaga over the styling.

On point🙌🏼, besides zenith😂

Because they dont play by the nice, 19th century middle class values of most YouTubers.  They arent even interested in your notions of 'bang for buck' or 'value for money' - if you like the watch and can afford it - buy it - if not - dont.  Thats hard for people to grasp - personally I kind of like that they dont treat watches like whitegoods.

Pride and pinion. Hes great

 E cause some people’s hearts are just a little too small.