Wanting a customised watch for the referees, FIFA asked Hublot to conceive the perfect watch to accompany them on the pitches during the matches. Hublot designed this connected watch, its first, for the footballing universe: the Big Bang Referee 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia. It is a unique edition that is limited to 2018 pieces. It has all the attributes of the iconic Big Bang. Its emblematic architecture cut out of the lightness of titanium, its bezel decorated with 6 H-shaped screws, its Kevlar insert. Even the display on its analogue mode dial could pass for the same aesthetic as that of the automatic models. In terms of size, its 49-mm case is what makes the first difference, then its motor, which, for the first time, is driven by technology connected to digital intelligence.
Beating to the rhythm of the football, the Big Bang Referee 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia immediately shows its distinctive spirit as the personification of an application specially developed for the competition and a series of “fan” dials in the colours of each participating nation. Featuring several notifications, the Big Bang Referee 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia announces matches 15 minutes before their kick-off, as well as yellow and red cards, player changes and goals. The Big Bang Referee 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia vibrates, displaying the word GOAL instantly every time a goal is scored. During the match, the dial shows the match statistics including the score, number of cards, names of goal-scorers, player substitutions and match time. The digital world provides the Big Bang with even greater flexibility and versatility. A watch which - having emblematically borne the first Hublot manufacture movement, the most unusual and audacious materials, the most assertive colours - has been reinvented for the digital era by offering 32 dials inspired by the flags of the participating countries, and two neutral dials. It is available in analogue or digital versions. Thanks to its patented interchangeable “One Click” strap, the watch can easily be matched to one of its two straps. Two are provided with the watch, a cuff strap in sponge sporting the 2018 FIFA World Cup emblem and that of Hublot, a black lined natural rubber strap. So as to perfect each fan’s kit, Hublot has also anticipated an additional strap for them in the colours of their country. In a turn of the dial, with the swipe of a finger, select your team or closely follow a competitor. The Big Bang Referee 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia has already been tested discreetly on the wrist of the referees many times during the FIFA Confederations Cup 2017 and the FIFA Club World Cup 2017. Benefiting from the Android living ecosystem, the Big Bang Referee 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia has thousands of downloadable applications in addition to its competition functions. In terms of synchronisation, the Big Bang Referee 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia is compatible with all telephones using Android 4.4 and above or iOS 9 and above. For charging, the watch just needs to be placed on a contact charger.
As well as all the functions available on the 2018 numbered models of the Big Bang Referee 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia, the referees’ watches will be connected to goal-line technology, an electronic video assistance system for refereeing which follows all the trajectories of the ball and determines for certain if the ball did or did not entirely cross the goal line. On the pitch, the watchmaker will be ever present in the game as always, by sequencing time, changes and extra time to the rhythm of its Big Bang-shaped referee boards. A board that has proved itself, as it is behind Hublot’s greatest visibility during matches. In the current digital world, it will be the very first competition in which the referees are supported by video assistance. From Saint Petersburg to Moscow via Ekaterinburg, Kaliningrad, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Rostov-on-Don, Samara, Saransk, Sochi and Volgograd, there are 12 stadiums for 32 teams playing 64 matches. Limited to 2018 pieces, available from 1 May, 2018 in Hublot sales outlets, this is the football watch, and the Official FIFA Watch.
