Frederic Arnault reveals plan to increase Zenith movement production for use across all LVMH watch brands

Zach Blass

• Frederic Arnault revealed to Bloomberg a plan to ramp up Zenith movement production.
• The move will give LVMH watch brands access to high-quality ebauches and strengthen Zenith at a time when the watch market seems to be cooling.
• With this news in mind, Arnault’s second reveal that LVMH has no interest in bidding for Sandoz Family watchmaking operations makes sense.

Last week, Frederic Arnault, CEO of LVMH Watches, revealed he plans to have Zenith increase its movement production capabilities to use Zenith calibres across the entire LVMH Watch Division. Frederic Arnault told Bloomberg, “We think we can go beyond the brand to develop them as a movement manufacturer for the group.”

While forward-thinking, such a strategy is a return to the watch industry of the past in which celebrated and trusted watchmakers were equally known for being both suppliers of ébauches to other brands and manufacturers of watches under their own name  – known as “Watchmakers’ Watchmaker” manufactures.

Furthermore, Andy Hoffman and Angelina Rascouet of Bloomberg raised a strong point, writing, “Ramping up production could provide cost synergies for LVMH and give Zenith a path to growth at a time of cooling demand for luxury watches.”

Another interesting reveal from Arnault was that the group is not interested in placing a bid on the Sandoz Family Foundation watchmaking operations, the prestigious Vaucher Manufacture Fleurier, instead opting to bolster a historically (and presently) celebrated movement maker in-house within the LVMH Watch Division.

While LVMH Watch Division brands certainly have ample in-house watchmaking capabilities, the expansion of Zenith movements beyond itself poses very intriguing possibilities. Zenith, as a master of hi-beat movements, could certainly help bring hi-beat chronographs to brands within the group that have yet to explore such a segment thoroughly. For example, TAG Heuer could explore a hi-beat Carrera chronograph, or Bulgari could develop hi-beat Octo Roma chronographs with the assistance of Zenith. This is not to say they could not go at it alone, but why not have some help if you have in-house friends?

Where this news gets me really excited, however, is that it opens the door to a longstanding pitch I have mentioned repeatedly to Hublot executives – notably former CEO Ricardo Guadalupe. Hublot has plenty of in-house manufacturing mastery and is well-known for its in-house fabrication of materials for watch externals: coloured ceramic, coloured sapphire, new gold alloys, aluminium, and more. Internally speaking, Hublot has very complicated in-house calibres. However, beneath the chronograph complication level, the brand still relies on mass-supplied movement bases from Sellita at the entry of its catalogue.

This Sellita element has plagued the watch enthusiast niche’s sentiment of the brand’s flagship design, the Classic Fusion, with some unable to reconcile the price of the Classic Fusion with its usage of a Sellita-base. Despite this common point of feedback from within the watch enthusiast community, the Classic Fusion is, after all, Hublot’s bestselling watch model, and, therefore, there is little incentive for Hublot to fix what the numbers reveal is not exactly broken.

That being said, I think a “Classic Fusion Elite”, a Hublot Classic Fusion driven by a Zenith Elite 670 base (a movement found in watches like the Defy Classic), would be a major mover of the needle in terms of the perception around the Classic Fusion within the watch enthusiast community. The Classic Fusion is currently offered in 29mm, 33mm, 38mm, 42mm, and 45mm sizes, but I would propose, to distinguish my hypothetical Classic Fusion Elite, that it has a 40mm case – which is currently only found in the faceted Orlinkski segment of Classic Fusion.  I suspect the watch community would have a very easy time getting behind a 40mm Classic Fusion that has an aesthetic in line with the Original. I also think an increased depth rating from 50 metres up to 100 metres would be the icing on the cake.

Such a vision was never necessarily a complete fantasy. Hublot has already turned to the Zenith Elite movement to power its Hublot Big Bang Integrated Time Only  40mm watches. So, it is clear the calibre can fit into a 40mm and 100-metre water-resistant case. But, Hublot has positioned the titanium Hublot Big Bang Integrated Time Only 40mm, which, keep in mind, is affixed to a bracelet, not a rubber strap, at a rather ambitious US$18,600 retail mark (which makes the US$20,800-priced full ceramic versions seem like a bargain).

The existing Sellita-driven Classic Fusion watches begin at around the US$8,000 mark in titanium. Were Hublot able to position my proposed 40mm Classic Fusion Elite close enough to the US$10,000 mark in titanium on a rubber strap as a baseline, with the more water-resistant case and Zenith-derived movement, I know I would be very compelled to purchase one, and I imagine many others yet to be convinced would find themselves tempted as well.