Opening Doorz

By Our Correspondent | Opening Doorz Editorial | June 13, 2018

FIFA World Cup Russia 2018

On 14 June 2018, Hublot, FIFA and Russia will kick off the first match of the 21st FIFA World Cup since it began in 1928. 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.

Big Bang Referee 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia
The watchmaker loves the tournament! Limited to 2018 pieces, this is the football watch, and the Official FIFA Watch! 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 watch 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 Wear OS 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 watch 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.

The referees
For the first time, they will be wearing the Big Bang Referee 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia with its smart technology imagined by Hublot. As well as all the functions available on the 2018 numbered models of the watch, 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. Let’s not forget, during the last FIFA World Cup in Brazil, no less than 21 minutes of playing time were credited to Hublot!

There’s no limit to love…
Hublot loves football and its family includes many star players and coaches—Pelé, Maradona, Mourinho—from prestigious clubs —Benfica, Chelsea, Juventus, Ajax.

Having joined the world of football in 2006, by becoming the sponsor of the Swiss national team, Hublot is now top of the league. With its status of “FIFA Official Watch” and “FIFA Official Timekeeper” for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, it has a total of three World Cups, three FIFA Confederations Cups, as well as three UEFA EURO editions, and three seasons of the Champions League and Europa League.

On the pitch, just like on wrists, from its 4th official boards to its Retrograde Chronograph calculating the match time, and now the first connected football watch, Hublot is there for all the matches and all the wins! It has been said that the more passion shared, the stronger it becomes! Armed with this adage, Hublot will welcome more than 1,000 guests throughout the competition.

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