On November 25th, 2010, Bernie Ecclestone was mugged and his Hublot watch stolen from his wrist.

The 80-year-old, attacked a week ago, sent the snap to Jean-Claude Biver, CEO of Hublot, with the note: “See what people will do for a Hublot”.

Since the two share a certain sense of humor, they soon agreed to turn the incident into an advert.

Hublot has become the official timekeeper for the next two editions of the Fifa World Cup.

The Swiss watchmaker will sponsor the tournaments in South Africa this year and in Brazil in 2014, with its logo appearing on referees’ boards when they show substitutions and stoppage time.

It will also provide a limited edition official watch range for each tournament, and has signed legendary Argentina coach Diego Maradona as a brand ambassador.

Luxury watchmakers are going back to basics with classic designs, as industry players at the world’s biggest watch fair in Switzerland warned Wednesday that the “years of extravagance” were over.

While the industry is reporting a glimmer of recovery, watchmakers gathering in the Swiss city of Basel also noted that recovery was fragile and that the mood among consumers was far from the heady pre-crisis years.

“After several months of economic upturn, there are some positive signs,” said Jacques Duchene, head of the organising committee for the Baselworld fair which officially kicks off on Thursday.

Companies such as Hublot and the giant Swatch have declared that the sales have been “exceptional” so far this year.

Hublot chief Jean-Claude Biver said that January was “the best in history, just like February would be and probably March.”

However, Duchene also warned: “We should not be overly confident, because the global economic situation is still highly precarious.”

Hublot and Formula 1 have announced their partnership with Hublot becoming the official watchmaker for Formula 1.

The start of the multi-year deal for Hublot will be marked with the brand-new F1 King model watch, a limited edition of the company’s King Power model.

Maintaining the popular large case sizing which has become synonymous with Hublot, the F1 King comes in a matte black aesthetic with ceramic case and subtle nods to F1 set against the background of the watch’s face.

The Hublot F1 King will be released in a limited run of 500 watches with each watch numbered between 01/500 to 500/500.

On August 28th, Jean-Claude Biver unveiled in front of the Old Trafford stadium the biggest clock ever built by Hublot.

It was specially created for the reigning English champions, and, at a height of 10 metres, designed to take pride of place in front of the legendary stadium.

The clock was unveiled in the presence of Sir Alex Ferguson and the Manchester United players.

The latest addition to the million-dollar watch club is Hublot’s limited-edition Black Caviar Bang based on their highly acclaimed Big Bang model.

It features an 18k white gold case and a clasp that features hundreds of precision-cut black diamonds.

The watch’s total of 34.5 carats is made up of 322 diamonds on the case, 179 on the bezel and another 30 on the clasp.