Hublot watches go full "Matrix"
Innovation — A new display case designed by a Vaud company aims to revolutionise the world of watchmaking.
The "Fusion Explorer" system was presented yesterday in a "world première" at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), after 18 months of development. The fruit of a collaboration between watchmaker Hublot and the companies Dietlin Artisans and FiveCo, this display case allows a visitor in a luxury boutique — or an internet user anywhere in the world — to admire a product from every angle, spinning it on screen like Keanu Reeves in the Matrix films!
"Thanks to a motorised micro-camera navigating 360° around the product, it is possible to highlight the finest details of each piece," says an enthusiastic Xavier Dietlin, director of Dietlin Artisans. "With the Fusion Explorer, we want to give Hublot watch enthusiasts a live experience rather than relying on virtual images. There is no doubt this invention will set the competition talking," he adds.
Priced at "several tens of thousands of francs" — sometimes more than its contents! — this display case could in future be applied to other products. One could easily imagine internet users examining auction artworks, museum pieces, or the curves of young women online from every angle they please…
