Why Jung Kook and Hublot Are a Match Made in Watch Heaven

Jung Kook has a lot on his plate right now. As a member of BTS—who recently graced the cover of GQ’s March issue—he’s in the midst of one of the most anticipated reunions in the history of pop music. The band’s fifth studio album, Arirang, their first release since 2022, drops on March 20. Their first reunion show is the next day, followed by a Netflix documentary dropping on March 27, ahead of an 80-plus-date world tour in April. One wouldn’t blame Jung Kook for taking things slowly in the lead-up to a whirlwind like that. Instead, he’s packing his schedule out even more, launching his first campaign as the newest global ambassador for Hublot.

For the uninitiated, Hublot is a Swiss luxury watch brand founded in 1980. While its look has evolved significantly since those early days, the brand’s debut timepiece—whose porthole-inspired design was the first to combine a gold case with a rubber strap—remains one of the more underrated greats of 1970s watch design. Hublot is still in its infancy compared to titans like Vacheron Constantin and Blancpain (both of which were founded in the 1700s), but thanks to its maximalist approach to watchmaking and pioneering use of unconventional materials, it has earned a place among the biggest names in the business.

Courtesy of Hublot

Hublot isn’t the brand you go to for a dainty or understated timepiece, and its signature Big Bang models (no relation to the K-pop pioneers)—many of which feature diamond-studded cases and elaborately skeletonized dials—have become a favorite of guys like Floyd Mayweather and Jay-Z (who famously namedropped his penchant for Hublot on the 2011 Watch the Throne track “Otis”). Hublot is also known for its ties to pro sports, with an official partnership with FIFA, as well as sponsorship deals with top-tier athletes like Kylian Mbappe, Patrick Mahomes, and Novak Djokovic. While the brand has made significant forays into other creative metiers—its collabs with the likes of Takashi Murakami, Daniel Arsham, and Yohji Yamamoto have been some of its highest-profile releases in recent years—K-pop is an entirely new realm for the brand. Given the massive global popularity of K-pop in general, and BTS in particular, it’s a potentially game-changing one.

In a suite at the Josun Palace Hotel, 34 stories above the chilly streets of Seoul, Hublot CEO Julien Tornare told GQ that in his eyes, the trait that makes for an ideal Hublot ambassador is mastery. “[We want] people with a strong character and a strong presence, and that’s definitely Jung Kook. But it’s also that he’s able to do so many different things on stage, between singing, dancing, and performing in different ways. It’s a fusion, and at a young age, he’s already mastered so many things.”