No, it’s not your average glass of water. One of my all-time favourite independent watchmaking brands HYT, who showcased their collection at the Salon International de la Horologerie Geneve this year, has captured my attention for their innovative designs, inspiration and desire to create something beyond your wildest dreams.
HYT is not your average watch brand nor do they want to be perceived as one. Their big, bold and crazy design screams for attention through its 51mm case and its 19.95mm height through its box-domed sapphire crystal cover. It is a futuristic masterpiece! As someone who has never come across this brand or seen the watch before, one might have thought it’s just some kind of a toy watch. Surprisingly this watch is taking watchmaking to the extreme.
Its conceptual design is taken from the Clepsydras of Ancient Greece, back in 600BC from the very first observations of the earth’s roundness made by scientists, philosophers and mathematicians. 4,000 years later, the H2O in brown has landed. This time HYT had used the earth’s primary color to celebrate the notion of the fluidity of time as the thing that keeps all worlds turning.
When I say fluid, I mean it actually has real liquid inside the watch. Its ground-breaking engineering starts from the exterior, viewed from the side, the digits, markers and directive arrows appear to be floating. Defying gravity is just one of the technical milestones that liquid time has reached. It took HYT 15 years, taking inspiration from aerospace technology, medical and semi-conductor sectors to develop this patented Fluidic Module. Two bellows form the main engine of its unique design and each one compresses or expands and releases or receives one of the two liquids corresponding to either elapsed or imminent time. The red liquid records recently elapsed time, while clear liquid symbolises the time that lies ahead.
The crown positioning indicator (H for hours, N for neutral and R for Rewind) and a thermal indicator make the H2O more dynamic. The 28-jewel caliber in its limited edition integrates rich brown PVD coating, a manual winding movement with a power reserve for 192 hours and is only limited to 8 pieces. If only I can get my hands on one of them… this one is definitely on my bucket list!
