Blue-blooded Signature

Sang Bleu’s founder and multidisciplinary tattooist Maxime Büchi now counts Hublot among his prestigious clientele as he makes his mark on the iconic Big Bang.

- Yong Wei Jian

Hublot must’ve trusted you to have allowed you to redesign its iconic Big Bang.

Hublot’s different from the rest of the watch industry in spirit, and this spirit is very much Jean-Claude Biver’s. Even though he’s not as involved as such anymore, he’s present in the way he set up the company: how quick and dynamic it is, and how people are excited to do extreme stuff. Look at the Ferrari or more experimental timepieces – they just go for it, that’s the vibe they’re in. The first time I met them was interesting; they wanted to do a tattoo watch, and I felt they got the wrong person because if you take my designs out of their context, they no longer look like tattoos. But they assured me right away that what they wanted was to work with me, so I did a range of designs, some more tattoo-y and on the face [of the watch], and a few that were more geometric and structural, and they were interested in the latter. From there, I brought the idea of intervening on everything but the crucial elements that tell time – because I didn’t want to just add a layer of decoration – and they kept going for it. They were genuinely excited to try things, and that’s refreshing compared to the rest of what you see, which is a bit boring sometimes.

What about luxury timepieces appeals to you?