Would you buy a Dh19,000+ smartwatch?

As part of its partnership with FIFA, luxury Swiss watchmaker Hublot supplied the 101 referees that officiated the 2018 Football World Cup with the Big Bang Referee smartwatch. Two years on, Hublot has released its first regular production smartwatch, the Big Bang E - a connected watch that adopts all the design codes of its talismanic Big Bang model. With the Euro 2020 championship originally scheduled for June 12, Hublot was expected to launch another smartwatch but that has now been put on hold following the postponement of the tournament in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic that swept Europe. However, it gave the watchmaker an opportunity to bring forward the launch of the Big Bang E, initially scheduled for September this year.

Even as sales of mechanical watches continue to fall, global smartwatch shipments continue to grow with a 20 per cent rise in the first quarter of 2020. According to data released by Strategy Analytics, 14 million units were sold in the first quarter of 2020 with the Apple Watch accounting for 55 per cent of the market share.

The new Big Bang E’s case is familiar – it has the same sandwich construction that has been a hallmark of Hublot watches since 2005. Those familiar with the brand’s design language will recognize the familiar visual codes – the characteristic design of the screws and pushers, a scratchproof sapphire crystal, the rubber strap with deployant buckle and the patented One Click system for swapping straps. The watch is water-resistant to 30 meters. The case is 42 mm wide and 12.8 mm thick and is available in titanium or ceramic. Instead of a conventional bezel, the numerals are metallized underneath a scratchproof sapphire crystal topped with an AMOLED high definition touchscreen. A rotary crown with integrated pusher serves to activate the controls for its electronic module. The watch has a battery life of a day and takes about two and a half hours to reach full charge.

It runs Google’s Wear OS software but Hublot’s designer have used the digital display to create unique interpretations of traditional watch complications like the perpetual calendar and the GMT display.

For example, there is a very realistic moon on the perpetual calendar display while the GMT time zone display presents the earth in a very realistic way.

In a first for the brand, Hublot will sell this watch online on the brand's website as well as on the WeChat network in China. It will subsequently be available to purchase in boutiques and the traditional network. While the titanium version is priced at $5,200 (Dh19,097), the ceramic version is priced at $5,800 (Dh21,300).