Defender of the 33rd America's Cup title, Alinghi, has just announced that their two time partnership [2003 & 2007] with Swiss luxury watchmaking firm Audemars Piguet has ended in favor of a new sponsor. This time around the Alinghi vessel will contain the logo, and financial backing, of Hublot. Founded in 1980 Hublot is a very young company by Swiss watchmaking standards but they have quickly made their mark with bold designs and quality manufacturing. Most notably being the first high end Swiss manufacturer to mix rubber straps with precious metal [i.e. gold] cases and fittings, creating a look that is often imitated by many other brands today.
The full press release of today's announcement is available on the Alinghi website.
On a purely personal note; I do find it a bit odd that the announcement is touting Hublot's porthole shaped designs as being "signature" to Hublot [referring to their extremely popular "Big Bang" line of pieces] when ironically their former sponsor, Audemars Piguet, has been producing marine inspired porthole shaped case watches since the early 1970's with their Royal Oak Offshore models.
2007 Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Alinghi Chronograph:
An example of a Hublot Big Bang:
So it would appear that someone, for some reason, felt that the AP/Alinghi relationship could go no further.
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