The Big Bang E Fifa World Cup Qatar 2022 is a smartwatch that takes the exciting experience of football and distills it into one sleek device. Photo: Hublot
Hublot is known for its wealth of experience in sports timekeeping, with football being something that the luxury watchmaker is particularly passionate about.
As the official timekeeper of the upcoming Fifa World Cup 2022 – for the 4th consecutive time, Hublot is more than excited to share the experience of the matches with everyone.
And what better way to do this than with a specially designed timepiece that will take fans of the world’s largest football tournament right into the heart of the action?
The new Big Bang E Fifa World Cup Qatar 2022 is a connected watch that can help capture every glorious moment of the game.
According to the CEO of Hublot, Ricardo Guadalupe, the watch was actually created for the referees of this year’s Fifa World Cup.
“When we developed this watch, we thought, ‘Why not also offer a limited edition model of it to the public?’ so we created a specific application dedicated to football,” he reveals, when interviewed in Kuala Lumpur.
Ricardo Guadalupe is a huge football fan and has enjoyed his involvement with the sport since becoming Hublot’s CEO in 2012. Photo: The Star/SAMUEL ONG
Before the tournament starts, the Big Bang E Fifa World Cup Qatar 2022 will be in countdown mode, keeping track of the days until the opening on Nov 20.
Then, with 15 minutes to go before each match, the watch will deliver team lineups and player profiles.
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As a game kicks off, it will then automatically enter “match mode” and activate “timeline”. This exclusive feature will help fans capture the most memorable and important moments in football.
At the outer edge of the dial there is a scale split into five sections, indicating the first and second halves, additional time allowed in each half, and half time.
If a goal is scored, the watch will show a match event animation mentioning the player’s name, and a football symbol will appear at the appropriate minute mark on the scale.
The same thing happens if there is a yellow card, a red card or a penalty.
If a match goes beyond normal time, the watch display will automatically switch into extra time mode, and then again, into shootout mode, in the event a match goes to penalties.
Each penalty is recorded by a picture of a football with a green or red outline to indicate whether or not the attempt was successful.
A final “match period animation” shows when the game is over, and the final score.
At any point during a game, the wearer can replay these events by scrolling around the dial using the watch’s crown.
Guadalupe says that a lot of thought went into designing the Big Bang E Fifa World Cup Qatar 2022. The watchmaker worked with some of the biggest tech companies like Google to pull it off.
The process has been an inspiring one for Hublot too, in terms of embracing the “connected” technology.
“It opens our mind to a new world that sometimes can inspire us also in our world of mechanical watches,” Guadalupe explains.
He says that he himself wears a connected watch.
“Smartwatches, at a certain point, we would have thought that it jeopardises the Swiss watch industry because we deal with mechanical watches. But they can work together.”
Guadalupe adds: “I’ve seen some people wearing a smartwatch on the right wrist and a mechanical watch on the left. So I think they’re really complimentary.”
Loving the game
One thing for sure though, Hublot certainly is crazy about football.
In addition to becoming the first luxury company to enter football in 2006, a number of football clubs have picked a Hublot as their official watch. Not mentioning the footballers who are its ambassadors.
Guadalupe says that he is a big football fan.
“I’m really lucky to be part of the Hublot brand because I’ve been able to go to watch the finals,” he enthuses.
He has been to countries like Brazil, South Africa and Russia to watch the tournaments in the past. Of course, he definitely won’t be missing the matches in Qatar.
“This life is unbelievable,” says Guadalupe.
He seems more coy about predicting the outcome of this year’s Fifa World Cup though.
“I think France is the best team on paper, because they have the best player – Kylian Mbappe. I think Brazil has a good chance too. But you need a bit of luck to become world champions.”
Mbappe is one of Hublot’s ambassadors. The footballer worked with Lebanese fashion designer Mira Mikati to design his own football for the current “Hublot Loves Football” campaign.
Hublot ambassador Kylian Mbappe is pictured here working on the “Hublot Loves Football” campaign. Photo: Hublot
Legendary footballer Pele also lent a hand for the campaign.
This is in addition to other ambassadors and “friends of the brand” like Laure Boulleau, Marcel Desailly, Didier Deschamps, Luis Figo, Ada Hegerberg, Roberto Martinez, Alex Morgan, Jose Mourinho, Alexia Putellas, Herve Renard, Xherdan Shaqiri, Gareth Southgate and David Trezeguet.
Each football created is a one-off, a piece of art to capture the themes of hope and universal respect, as well as the individual personalities of the football stars and their shared passion for football.
Some are hand-drawn and painted, others crocheted, representing the human element in football.
Guadalupe, born in Switzerland but of Spanish descent, jokes about how he will be in a tight spot if forced to choose between those two teams in this year’s Fifa World Cup.
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“So, if Spain plays Switzerland, then I’m in trouble,” he says with a smile.
As for his best memories since being appointed as CEO in 2012, Guadalupe says they are all football related.
“Meeting Pele in person, particularly in Brazil during the World Cup in 2014,” he reminisces.
“Another memorable moment was when Spain won in 2010. That was the first time in history that Spain became world champions. I was at the finals in South Africa, so that was also an incredible moment.”
When asked, Guadalupe reveals that Hublot is working on a watch for Mbappe. This is something that football fans can look forward to in the future.
Yet, there will be more exciting stuff to expect from Hublot.
“We always want to surprise our people, our consumers, by coming up with novelties. In football, we’ve partnered with Fifa, with the Champions League, with the Premier League. We also want to create watches that are linked to the sport from the mechanical side,” he concludes.
