2021 was a dark year for HYT. The Neuchâtel-based manufacture filed for bankruptcy after a difficult year in 2020, but managed to bounce back the following year during a much more propitious period for the luxury market. For watch enthusiasts, and indeed for the entire luxury watchmaking sector, it’s a cult brand that has been reborn, and today unveils a new, out-of-the-ordinary timepiece in the Conical Tourbillon this time in a Titanium Blue !
When it was founded in 2012, the brand made a promise: to bring haute horlogerie into the future. By fusing its retrograde fluid mechanics technology with a conical tourbillon, HYT delivers on its promise. This mechanism, created by master watchmaker Eric Coudraywho also designed the gyrotourbillon for Jaeger-LeCoultre, reinterprets Walter Prendel’s 1928 work with his oblique tourbillon to give life to Alfred Helwig’s theories on stability and regularity of rate. Thus, on this conical tourbillon, the entire balance-spring assembly is inclined at 30°. from the horizontal, the escape wheel at 15° and the anchor at 23°.
In addition to improving the tourbillon, this innovation also creates a dynamic, chaotic animation of three spheres filled with blue liquid for a unique visual effect in the center of the dial. While the tourbillon makes one complete revolution in 30 seconds, one sphere makes 4 revolutions per minute, another 5 and the third 6, all clockwise. Coupled with the hour display in fluidicit’s a real feast for the eyes! The whole thing is encased in an imposing titanium case with no fewer than 66 parts, a dial constructed in 3 dimensions and a rubber strap. Knowing that HYT’s first prices start at CHF 70,000 (excluding tax), don’t be surprised when you see the335,000 CHF price tag that accompanies this astonishing conical tourbillon, limited to just 8 pieces.
To find out more, visit the HYT website.
FEATURES – HYT TOURBILLON CONICAL TITANIUM BLUE
Case : titanium – black DLC coating – polished and brushed finish – 48mm wide x 52.3mm long x 25.15mm thick – curved sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating – transparent caseback – water resistance 3 ATM (30 meters)
Dial : black lacquered brass – multi-layered – applied Arabic numerals – borosilicate capillary tube with blue liquid – luminous minute hand and Arabic numerals in Super-LumiNova blocks
Movement mechanical hand-wound (with dedicated tool) – black DLC coating – sandblasted and polished finish – calibre 701-TC – 21,600 vibrations per hour (3Hz) – hours, minutes and seconds functions – 40-hour power reserve
Strap : black rubber – customized cut – titanium pin buckle – black DLC coating – sandblasted & polished finish
Information : available from authorized dealers – limited edition of 8 pieces – 5-year warranty – prices from 335,000 CHF excl. tax
