Hublot has announced the release of its first smartwatch that will be used by referees at the FIFA World Cup 2018, to be held in Russia this summer.
The luxury watchmaker has designed the watch, named Big Bang Referee, on the request of event’s organizers.
The 49mm smartwatch boasts Video-assisted referees (VAR) technology, which will be used for the first-ever time in the World Cup.
Thanks to VAR, on the pitch referees, will be able to communicate with the video assistants to confirm whether the ball has entirely crossed the goal-line or not.
Like the standard Big Bang model, the watch is constructed of titanium, Kevlar and a bezel that is wrapped up with six screws.
The device has an AMOLED screen which offers a resolution of 400 x 400 pixels, Bluetooth 4.1, 802.11n Wi-Fi, and 410mAH battery, which offers a battery life of up to one day.
The Smartwatch will allow referees to communicate with the video assistants to confirm whether the ball has crossed the goal-line or not
Big Bang Referee is not exclusively for referees, and the soccer fans will also be able to get live information about results, goal scorers, player substitutes and cards in all 64 matches of the tournament.
Hublot will reportedly produce only 2,018 units of the device – including a customized version for each referee.
“The Big Bang Referee 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia offers all the usual features of a smartwatch of course, but that’s not where Hublot has applied its innovation and audacity. It brings together everything that inspires the passion of football lovers!,” said Ricardo Guadalupe, CEO of Hublot.
“The FIFA World Cup is the Holy Grail of emotions for football fans, so just imagine what an object such as a watch that captures each and every one of its moments, its turning points, its stakes could suddenly represent? The football aficionados from among the brand’s friends have been waiting for this watch for a long time,” he added.
The watch will come up in a range of dials in 32 colours, which signify the teams participating in the event. The wearers will also be able to choose from a range of custom straps.
Priced at $5,200, the watch will go on sale on May 1.
