International symbol of luxuryThe Vendôme Column is lit by Hublot!
Friday the 3rd of December 2010, 5.30 pm: Hublot CEO Jean-Claude Biver flicked the switch to illuminate the Vendôme Column in lavish celebration of its bicentenary and to mark the opening of the new Hublot boutique at 10, Place Vendôme. Attendees included Béatrice de Plinval, President of the Comité Vendôme, Isabelle Lemesle, President of the French Centre for National Monuments, Danièle Pourtoud, Deputy Mayor of Paris with responsibility for cultural heritage and Jean-François Legaret, mayor of the 1st arrondissement, all of whom gathered around the Hublot clock which provided the countdown to the event.
This is the first time the Vendôme Column has been decorated with lights, which will be lit every day of the year from 5 pm until midnight indefinitely. The lights have been added to mark the 200th anniversary of the column, which was erected in 1810 by Napoleon I in honour of the French Grande Armée (Great Army). The lighting uses innovative LED technology enabling the projection of beams in various hues of white to naturally restore the column's bronze colour. The system uses very little energy (1.8kW).