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Hublot’s partnership with Jungkook may have captured headlines, but for CEO Julien Tornare, it forms part of a broader story about innovation, identity and the future of the brand
<figure id="attachment_117187" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-117187" style="width: 1080px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-117187" src="https://backend.daman.co.id/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/HUBLOT_JULIEN-TORNARE_CEO_MANUFACTURE5.jpg" alt="" width="1080" height="1620" srcset="https://backend.daman.co.id/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/HUBLOT_JULIEN-TORNARE_CEO_MANUFACTURE5.jpg 1080w, https://backend.daman.co.id/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/HUBLOT_JULIEN-TORNARE_CEO_MANUFACTURE5-200x300.jpg 200w, https://backend.daman.co.id/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/HUBLOT_JULIEN-TORNARE_CEO_MANUFACTURE5-683x1024.jpg 683w, https://backend.daman.co.id/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/HUBLOT_JULIEN-TORNARE_CEO_MANUFACTURE5-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://backend.daman.co.id/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/HUBLOT_JULIEN-TORNARE_CEO_MANUFACTURE5-1024x1536.jpg 1024w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1080px) 100vw, 1080px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-117187" class="wp-caption-text">Hublot CEO Julien Tornare</figcaption></figure>
Seoul has long established itself as a global cultural force, a city where music, fashion and youth culture move with unmistakable momentum. It was there, amid the energy that helped propel K-pop onto the world stage, that Julien Tornare quietly set the stage for one of Hublot’s most closely watched partnerships in recent years. Ahead of the announcement naming Jungkook as the brand’s newest ambassador, DA MAN sat down with the Hublot CEO to discuss what the collaboration would ultimately represent for the Swiss watchmaker.
Looking back, the conversation revealed something more layered than a conventional celebrity endorsement. The appointment of Jungkook reflected Hublot’s continued push toward contemporary culture, while also signaling a growing willingness to revisit and articulate the brand’s own legacy. In an industry often split between heritage and disruption, Hublot appears intent on embracing both at once, remaining firmly aligned with its long-standing philosophy: “For Those Who Dare to Stand Out.”
DAMAN: When Hublot first introduced Jungkook as its newest ambassador, how important was it for the partnership to feel lasting rather than simply headline-driven? 
Julien Tornare: I am very deliberate about this. I pay close attention to the level of engagement and motivation on both sides before I sign anything. With Jungkook, we had many conversations with him and with his entourage to understand whether this collaboration would be truly meaningful for him, not just commercially convenient.
He had other proposals. He would not have chosen a quiet, conservative brand. He wanted an expressive brand that pushes forward. That alignment is what authenticity looks like. Clients feel the difference; they always do.
What also gives me confidence is that this partnership will take different forms over time. We are both ambitious about building something that does not look like a standard ambassador arrangement. We talked about this explicitly. Both of us want to do things differently.
DA: Given Hublot’s history of artist collaborations, could that relationship eventually evolve into a dedicated watch or creative project? 
JT: Not immediately, and I think it is important to explain why. I make a distinction between two kinds of creative partners. When we work with contemporary artists like Samuel Ross or Takashi Murakami, they want to touch the product. Their connection to the brand is built through making something with their hands. So, the creative collaboration comes first, and the relationship follows.
With a sports figure or a performer like Jungkook, the starting point is different. It begins with an emotional connection to the brand itself, its history and its values. He is first and foremost an ambassador, and that is what this chapter is about.
We started the relationship with the essence of Hublot: the new Big Bang Original, which carries the soul of the watch Jean-Claude Biver launched 21 years ago, combined with all the evolutions since, including the Unico movement and the One Click system. That is the right foundation.
As for a co-created piece, why not, in time? I will learn what he responds to in watchmaking, what moves him. But I never force that. The best creative collaborations happen naturally.
DA: The partnership also created an interesting dialogue between Swiss watchmaking and South Korean pop culture. What did you hope that exchange would bring to Hublot’s identity globally? 
JT: Awareness and desirability, certainly. But more than that: authenticity. People who already love Hublot will see that the brand is moving into dynamic, meaningful cultural territory. People who do not yet know Hublot will ask themselves why someone like Jungkook, who had every choice in the world, chose this brand. And when they investigate, they will find a brand that is genuinely part of the present moment.
There is a compelling parallel. Music and watchmaking can both become very traditional, very insular. But both need voices and brands that push them forward. Jungkook is doing that for music and performance. Hublot is doing that for watchmaking. That is what we have in common, and that shared ambition is what will make this collaboration feel real, not performed.
<figure id="attachment_117185" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-117185" style="width: 1080px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-117185" src="https://backend.daman.co.id/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Hublot_Jung-Kook_Big-Bang-Original-Unico-King-Gold-Ceramic.jpg" alt="" width="1080" height="608" srcset="https://backend.daman.co.id/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Hublot_Jung-Kook_Big-Bang-Original-Unico-King-Gold-Ceramic.jpg 1080w, https://backend.daman.co.id/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Hublot_Jung-Kook_Big-Bang-Original-Unico-King-Gold-Ceramic-300x169.jpg 300w, https://backend.daman.co.id/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Hublot_Jung-Kook_Big-Bang-Original-Unico-King-Gold-Ceramic-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://backend.daman.co.id/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Hublot_Jung-Kook_Big-Bang-Original-Unico-King-Gold-Ceramic-768x432.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1080px) 100vw, 1080px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-117185" class="wp-caption-text">Jungkook of BTS fame and now ambassador for Hublot</figcaption></figure>
DA: Beyond the Jungkook partnership, what direction was Hublot preparing to take in the years ahead? 
JT: It is going to be a very full year. At Watches and Wonders, the focus will be on the evolution of the Big Bang, a twenty-year arc of improvement and refinement of the watch Jean-Claude Biver launched back in 2005.
We will present a new Big Bang design, a new aesthetic chapter, that I believe will be the ultimate showcase for the Unico movement. You will see the movement expressed in a completely new way. The fusion between the watch’s design and its technical architecture will be quite extraordinary.
Then, later in the year, for the first time, Hublot will look back. We have always faced forward, as Jean-Claude Biver famously said, “We create the future, do not look at the past.” But the brand is 46 years old now, and we are fortunate to have our founder, Carlo Crocco, who is 82 and deeply loves this brand.
I want to tell that story, why Hublot was born, what it was created to do, what has been accumulated over those 46 extraordinary years. Innovation is our present, but heritage can be our depth.
DA: Looking at all these developments together—the Jungkook collaboration, the evolution of the Big Bang and the renewed focus on heritage—what eventually ties them into one larger vision for Hublot? 
JT: The thread is this: Hublot is perhaps the only high-end brand that will never sit on the conservative, classical side. We will always be on the side of creativity, innovation and the trend-driven edge of watchmaking.
And yet, and this is what people do not fully understand yet, we are also serious watchmakers. When I arrived at Hublot, I was genuinely surprised by the depth of expertise here. The in-house sapphire, the in-house ceramic, the movement work, we have not talked about this enough. We have not received the credit we deserve.
So my job is to balance the equation. The creativity is already understood. What I want to add is the conviction that behind the spectacle, there is real substance.
We are a young brand, 46 years old, and that is actually a privilege, because it means we are still building. The best chapters of Hublot have not yet been written. That is what excites me every morning.
Science says the sauna can elevate heart rate like a workout, but peak fitness still depends on pairing heat with hard training 
You’ve probably seen the headlines claiming that a sauna session can benefit the body almost as much as exercise. It sounds like the ultimate wellness shortcut: sit back, sweat it out and skip the gym entirely. Before trading sneakers for a towel though, the science behind the hype deserves a closer look.
Much of the conversation began with a study published in Complementary Therapies in Medicine. German researchers tracked 19 volunteers to measure the immediate effects of sauna use on the cardiovascular system. The findings were unexpectedly compelling. A 25-minute sauna session produced a physiological response comparable to a short, moderate ride on a stationary bike.
The intense heat caused both blood pressure and heart rate to rise gradually before returning to baseline once the session ended. Researchers observed the same pattern when participants cycled against a 60-to-100-watt load on an exercise bike. In simple terms, the heart responds as though it has completed a light workout.
That naturally raises the obvious question: can regular sauna sessions replace exercise altogether? Not quite. While saunas may support cardiovascular health, heat alone does little for muscle development or functional fitness. “A sauna session is a physical strain and its long-term positive effects for the heart are similar to sports activities. But with no muscle activity, it won’t be the same as doing exercise,” explained lead researcher Sascha Ketelhut, PD Dr. of Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg.
Andy Galpin, professor and Executive Director of the Human Performance Centre, echoes that view. For individuals who are sedentary or living with mobility limitations, sauna use can offer meaningful health benefits. The issue begins when the hot room is marketed as a legitimate substitute for exercise itself. Current epidemiological evidence simply does not support the idea that sitting in a sauna delivers better fitness outcomes than cardio training or structured physical activity.
<figure id="attachment_117186" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-117186" style="width: 1080px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-117186" src="https://backend.daman.co.id/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/JUNG-KOOK-HUBLOT-GLOBAL-BRAND-AMBASSADOR-WITH-JULIEN-TORNARE-HUBLOT-CEO-2.jpg" alt="" width="1080" height="720" srcset="https://backend.daman.co.id/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/JUNG-KOOK-HUBLOT-GLOBAL-BRAND-AMBASSADOR-WITH-JULIEN-TORNARE-HUBLOT-CEO-2.jpg 1080w, https://backend.daman.co.id/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/JUNG-KOOK-HUBLOT-GLOBAL-BRAND-AMBASSADOR-WITH-JULIEN-TORNARE-HUBLOT-CEO-2-300x200.jpg 300w, https://backend.daman.co.id/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/JUNG-KOOK-HUBLOT-GLOBAL-BRAND-AMBASSADOR-WITH-JULIEN-TORNARE-HUBLOT-CEO-2-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://backend.daman.co.id/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/JUNG-KOOK-HUBLOT-GLOBAL-BRAND-AMBASSADOR-WITH-JULIEN-TORNARE-HUBLOT-CEO-2-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1080px) 100vw, 1080px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-117186" class="wp-caption-text">Julien Tornare and Jungkook</figcaption></figure>
Ultimately, the two practices serve very different purposes. Sauna culture is rooted in therapy and recovery. Heat exposure helps lower stress hormones such as cortisol, improves circulation and supports muscle recovery after intense training. Cardio training, by contrast, is active physical work designed to build endurance and functional capacity. Exercise burns more calories, promotes fat loss, strengthens skeletal muscles and develops long-term stamina.
The smartest approach is not choosing one over the other but understanding how each fits into a broader performance routine. For goals like fat loss, muscle definition and endurance, structured training remains essential whether through weightlifting, running or high-intensity conditioning. Saunas work best as a complement to that effort, particularly for stress reduction, muscle relaxation and joint relief.
One of the easiest ways to integrate sauna use is as a post-workout ritual. After an intense lifting session or demanding cardio workout, muscles are fatigued and tight. Spending 15 to 20 minutes in the heat can help soothe soreness, reduce next-day stiffness and support recovery. It also works remarkably well as an evening routine, especially for runners. The heat helps downregulate the nervous system, making it easier to transition into deeper, more restorative sleep that aids tissue repair overnight.
Saunas can also become particularly valuable during injury recovery or de-load weeks. When training volume drops or high-impact exercise is temporarily off the table, heat exposure may help maintain cardiovascular conditioning. Elevated temperatures stimulate circulation and force the heart to work harder, creating a mild cardio-like effect without placing additional mechanical stress on the joints.
That support may help preserve aerobic capacity during recovery, making the eventual return to training smoother and more efficient. The takeaway is straightforward: the sauna is a powerful tool for overall wellness, but it works best alongside a proper fitness regimen rather than in place of one. Pair the heat with consistent hard work and the result is a more balanced, sustainable approach to long-term performance.

Julien Tornare on Jungkook, the Big Bang and Hublot’s Future

Hublot,

julien tornare,

Jungkook