Whenever you hear that a watch brand is the “Official Timekeeper” of a high-profile sporting event, it can be easy to automatically assume that the relationship is little more than some thinly-veiled sponsorship deal. However, Hublot has a legitimate connection to the world of soccer, and the Swiss brand takes things further than providing financial support and adding its name to stadium clocks. As the Official Timekeeper of soccer’s most prestigious events (including both the UEFA Champions League and the FIFA World Cup), Hublot equips referees with high-tech interconnected smartwatches that are used to time the actual games. Additionally, the brand also creates limited-edition versions of its smartwatch that are specifically intended for avid spectators, and these timepieces track real-time game stats to function like wrist-mounted, heads-up displays for soccer superfans. Building upon the core concept of its spectator-focused World Cup smartwatches, the new Hublot Big Bang e UEFA Champions League Gen3 is based upon the latest generation of the brand’s connected timepiece, and it expands this offering to soccer’s premier annual tournament.

Hublot recently announced an updated generation of its smartwatch earlier this year in 2023, and the new Hublot Big Bang e UEFA Champions League Gen3 (ref. 450.EX.1100.RX.UCL23) expands upon that model in much the same way that previous World Cup editions are soccer-focused versions of the standard-production Big Bang e smartwatch. While the dimensions are the same as the regular models at 44mm in diameter by 14mm thick, the case of new Big Bang e UEFA Champions League Gen3 is crafted from bright blue ceramic to represent the colors of the tournament, rather than being white or black like the two standard-production versions. The rest of the watch is very much in line with the current Big Bang e Gen3, and it features an electronic multifunction crown at 3 o’clock, a large AMOLED touchscreen protected by a sapphire crystal, and 30 meters of water resistance to guard against incidental contact. Additionally, to further lean into the UEFA Champions League colorway of this new model, the integrated lugs are fitted with a black and blue rubber strap that connects to the case with a quick-release system.

Running on Wear OS by Google, the Hublot Big Bang e UEFA Champions League Gen3 features eight different sensors, along with GPS, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, a heart rate monitor, and NFC payment connectivity. While this pretty much checks all of the major boxes and enables the watch to be entirely capable of functioning as a practical daily connected device, the real appeal of these soccer-themed Hublot Big Bang e-models is that they feature unparalleled integration with the actual live games. For example, fifteen minutes before kick-off, a countdown will start and the watch will enter “match mode” to provide users with information about team lineups. Throughout the course of the game, wearers will be able to keep track of goals scored, added time, and half-time breaks, plus key stats for players such as yellow/red cards and goal attempts. Additionally, should any of the action be missed, owners can replay key moments by using the “replay” mode and scrolling with the electronic crown.

At the heart of the Hublot Big Bang e UEFA Champions League Gen3 is a Qualcomm Snapdragon WearTM 4100+ processor, and just like previous versions of the Big Bang e, the new UEFA Champions League edition is compatible with both Apple iOS and Google Android operating systems. Despite the numerous sensors and advanced functionality, the Big Bang e UEFA Champions League Gen3 offers users an all-day battery life with the ability to be fully recharged in just two hours. Aside from their soccer-related integration, one of my favorite features of Hublot’s smartwatches is that they come loaded with virtual watch faces that emulate popular Hublot models and offer expanded functionality and playful animations. For instance, the chronograph faces offer the added utility of a stopwatch, the minute repeater faces chime, and there are other virtual faces that incorporate dynamic digital animations, such as having liquid metal or colored ceramics flow out from the center hands and quickly retreat back into the dial whenever the watch is raised to read the time.

I spent some time with the previous soccer-themed Hublot smartwatch that was launched last year, and you can read my full hands-on review of the Hublot Big Bang Bang E FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 if you would like some additional insight on what exactly these soccer-centric smartwatches mean to Hublot as a brand, along with the types of individuals who actually purchase them. The important thing to remember is that these premium soccer-themed smartwatches are not supposed to be a person’s first or only timepiece from Hublot, and they were never intended to be an alternative for any of the brand’s mechanical models. Aside from a handful of die-hard soccer super-fans, these smartwatches are primarily purchased by wealthy individuals who already own an entire collection of expensive watches, and who now want to buy a new (and comparatively inexpensive) one to help them get in the soccer spirit and increase their ability to interact with the UEFA Champions League tournament.

While the Hublot World Cup smartwatches appear once every four years and are dedicated to that specific edition of the tournament, the UEFA Champions League is an annual competition, and this means that the soccer-related integration of the new Hublot Big Bang e UEFA Champions League Gen3 is something that owners should be able to appreciate each year. Hublot is now in its third generation of the Big Band e smartwatch in the span of just half a decade since the model first debuted. While future iterations seem like an inevitability, smartwatches can be updated, and I can’t see why it wouldn’t be possible to download an update for the UEFA Champions League version of the Big Bang e and have the watch be ready to track the next edition of the tournament the following year. Produced as a limited edition of 200 examples, the Hublot Big Bang e UEFA Champions League Gen3 is accompanied by an official retail price of $5,900 USD, which represents a $500 premium compared to the standard Big Bang e Gen3, and just $100 more than what the brand was charging for the World Cup Qatar 2022 version from last year. For more information on the Hublot Big Bang e UEFA Champions League Gen3 smartwatch, please visit the brand’s website.