The watchmaker Hublot heralded the introduction of luxury watches into the world of football in 2007 by signing a partnership with EURO 2008. Recently, Jean-Claude Biver, CEO, announced that he renounced visibility of the brand in the stadiums by donating its entire billboard space to a foundation campaigning against racism - a “first” in this type of sponsoring. Today, two months away from the kick-off, Hublot presents the new Big Bang, specially designed for Euro 2008.

Until recently, football was the playing field of popular brands. Hublot is the first luxury watch brand to embrace this sport. Given that football is watched by all socio-cultural categories of the population and that, next June, all eyes will be turned towards the football stadiums of Switzerland and Austria, this partnership straight away seemed promising. On top of that, Euro 2008 will be played on Swiss soil, so it was difficult not to enter into such an agreement when you represent one of the flagship industries of the country.

A few days ago, the CEO of Hublot announced another original move connected with the Euro: Hublot renounced the visibility it could have had in the stadiums – and which represents a large share of the sponsoring budget – for the benefit of a foundation fighting against racism. Hublot will make way for the message NO TO RACISM which will be visible in large letters in the stadium corners. This gesture means a lot for Hublot, which thus hopes to open up a new dimension in sponsoring: that of communication and education in favour of causes which are important to the company. Re-stating that football is an excellent vehicle for communication, Jean-Claude Biver intends to use this power to contribute to the combat against racial discrimination.

Today, on the occasion of the Basel fair, and within the framework of Euro 2008, the watchmaker is unveiling the watch designed to celebrate this competition. A new Big Bang with a special “half time” movement, with a 45-minute chronograph, it has been designed to time the football match periods as well as the 15 minutes of extra time which are shown on the counter. The limited series of 2008 pieces is made of black ceramic and rubber. The inside of the strap features a red strip stamped “UEFA EURO 2008TM”, with the Euro trophy engraved on the back. This timepiece symbolises the fusion between Hublot’s watchmaking know-how and the world of sport with its particular needs, and that of football in particular.
There is another version of the Big Bang Euro 2008 in red gold and black ceramic, in a limited series of 250 pieces.

Case	:	“Big Bang” diameter 44.5 mm in satin-polished black ceramic, with satinfinish end piecesBezel Black ceramic with 6 titanium H-shaped screws − sunken, polished and blocked Crystal Sapphire crystal with interior anti-reflection treatment Bezel lug Black composite resin Lateral inserts Black composite resin Back Solid black ceramic with the UEFA trophy engraved in matching tones Crown Steel with black rubber insert Push-pieces Steel, rectangular with black rubber insert Screws Titanium Water-resistance 100 m or 10 ATM
Dial	:	Black with satin-finish figures and appliqués index markers, rhodium-plated, seconds hands and red motion-work, 45-minute counter at 9:00
Hands	:	Faceted, diamond-polished, rhodium-plated, with white luminescent feature
Movement	:	45-minute counter mechanical chronograph with automatic winding, Hublot HUB45 calibreRubies 55 Bridges Polished, satin-finish with chamfered edges Screws Black PVD Calendar Rectangular aperture at 6:00 Oscillating weight Tungsten carbide with dimpled surface coated with black PVD Bottom plate Sand-blasted; rhodium-plated Barrel With reinforced spring Escapement Glucydur balance spring Power reserve 42 hours Strap Adjustable ribbed black rubber with red UEFA EURO 2008TM strip on the inside
Clasp	:	Steel and black PVD deployant clasp
Limited Edition	:	2008 numbered pieces 01/2008 – 2008/2008