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Posted

HYT H1 Hydro Mechanical Watch

Allow me to officially debut liquid timekeeping to you. I teased the HYT H1 watch here recently by showing off the movement and the teaser video (more images there too). Now I can show you the full watch and discuss all that it is. In short, the HYT (Hydro Mechanical Horologists) brand will be dedicated to producing watches with liquid in them. The debut model is called the H1.

HYT CEO Vincent Perriard called the first "new" Concord watch the C1 when he was the CEO there a few years ago. There is a lot of similarity here in terms of the modernist conceptualization and presentation of the concept. Though the H1 is something altogether new. The watch uses a liquid filled chamber to display the hours using luminescent green goo in a circular tube. Two bellows are used to push and pull the liquid to show the time on the scale. These bellows are operated by the movement. The minutes are displayed in the center of the face with a dedicated dial, and there is a water turbine style subsidiary seconds hand to the left of it. On the right is a power reserve indicator for the mechanical movement.

post-5203-13356964314125.jpg

Nothing like this has been done before. HYT claims that there are seven pending patents for this watch alone. The brand worked with a number of consultants to produce the movement. They have fancy names like Preciflex and Chronode - and are among the elite group of horological engineers in Switzerland that are able to make stuff like this a reality. This is probably one of the most interesting watches to view while adjusting the time.

Pistons in the movement move the bellows. As one expands the other one compresses which moves the liquid. The green colors comes from "fluorescein" which I am going to venture to say is not safe to drink. According to HYT the watch is designed with as much shock protection as possible to ensure the systems are kept safe and that you can wear the watch as normal.

The HYT H1 is a pretty sizable watch. Wear this and you'll get noticed for sure. Especially by the TSA while traveling in the airport. Anyone other than an elite group of watch lovers around the world are going to be mesmerized by this mechanonaut on your wrist.

post-5203-13356964447986.jpg

Coming in three case styles the H1 will be available in titanium, DLC black coated titanium, and 18k red gold. The case will be 48.8mm wide and a pretty massive 17.9mm thick. Actually that is small considering it has bellows in it. Design wise the case reminds me a lot of the Clerc Hydroscaph. It isn't a 1:1 clone by any means, but if you compare the two you will see obvious design influences. Then there is the rubber-coated crown and the crown protector. It looks a lot like the crown and crown protector layout on the Bremont Supermarine watch. Nothing wrong with that, it is just interesting to see where the HYT team gathered influence to make this otherwise very unique creation.

The movement has a power reserve of 65 hours and is visible through the rear of the watch. I think it looks very nice and the functions are acceptable given the complexity of the liquid system as well as the price of the watch. This is going to be a cool watch to get some hands-on time with at Baselworld 2012. Price was surprisingly not uber-crazy. The HYT H1 in titanium will be priced at $45,000. No word yet on the price in 18k red gold.

HYT H1 Hydro Mechanical Watch

post-5203-13356964559733.jpg

Allow me to officially debut liquid timekeeping to you. I teased the HYT H1 watch here recently by showing off the movement and the teaser video (more images there too). Now I can show you the full watch and discuss all that it is. In short, the HYT (Hydro Mechanical Horologists) brand will be dedicated to producing watches with liquid in them. The debut model is called the H1.

HYT CEO Vincent Perriard called the first "new" Concord watch the C1 when he was the CEO there a few years ago. There is a lot of similarity here in terms of the modernist conceptualization and presentation of the concept. Though the H1 is something altogether new. The watch uses a liquid filled chamber to display the hours using luminescent green goo in a circular tube. Two bellows are used to push and pull the liquid to show the time on the scale. These bellows are operated by the movement. The minutes are displayed in the center of the face with a dedicated dial, and there is a water turbine style subsidiary seconds hand to the left of it. On the right is a power reserve indicator for the mechanical movement.

post-5203-13356964733755.jpg

Nothing like this has been done before. HYT claims that there are seven pending patents for this watch alone. The brand worked with a number of consultants to produce the movement. They have fancy names like Preciflex and Chronode - and are among the elite group of horological engineers in Switzerland that are able to make stuff like this a reality. This is probably one of the most interesting watches to view while adjusting the time.

post-5203-13356964824664.jpg

Pistons in the movement move the bellows. As one expands the other one compresses which moves the liquid. The green colors comes from "fluorescein" which I am going to venture to say is not safe to drink. According to HYT the watch is designed with as much shock protection as possible to ensure the systems are kept safe and that you can wear the watch as normal.

The HYT H1 is a pretty sizable watch. Wear this and you'll get noticed for sure. Especially by the TSA while traveling in the airport. Anyone other than an elite group of watch lovers around the world are going to be mesmerized by this mechanonaut on your wrist.

post-5203-13356966283509.jpg

Coming in three case styles the H1 will be available in titanium, DLC black coated titanium, and 18k red gold. The case will be 48.8mm wide and a pretty massive 17.9mm thick. Actually that is small considering it has bellows in it. Design wise the case reminds me a lot of the Clerc Hydroscaph. It isn't a 1:1 clone by any means, but if you compare the two you will see obvious design influences. Then there is the rubber-coated crown and the crown protector. It looks a lot like the crown and crown protector layout on the Bremont Supermarine watch. Nothing wrong with that, it is just interesting to see where the HYT team gathered influence to make this otherwise very unique creation.

The movement has a power reserve of 65 hours and is visible through the rear of the watch. I think it looks very nice and the functions are acceptable given the complexity of the liquid system as well as the price of the watch. This is going to be a cool watch to get some hands-on time with at Baselworld 2012. Price was surprisingly not uber-crazy. The HYT H1 in titanium will be priced at $45,000. No word yet on the price in 18k red gold.

post-5203-13356966428442.jpg

Technical data from HYT:

Movement: mechanical hand-wound, exclusive HYT calibre, 28,800 vph, 4 Hz, 35 jewels, bridges hand-chamfered and adorned with Côtes de Genève, rhodiumed bellows, 65-hour power reserve

Functions retrograde fluid hours, minutes, seconds

Case: titanium; diameter: 48.8 mm, thickness: 17.9 mm brushed, bead-blasted and satin-brushed finish

rubber-clad screw-lock crown

titanium crown guard

screw-locked added lugs

metal dome at 06:00

cambered sapphire crystal with glareproofed interior

screw-down sapphire back

Dial: unstructured, silver-toned opaline

fluid hours, luminescent hands and hour-markers regulator at 12:00

small seconds wheel at 09:30

power-reserve indicator at 02:30

Strap: hand-sewn leather-lined canvas, pin buckle

Other versions: black DLC-coated titanium case, black subdial

5N 18K red gold case, black subdial

Posted

I had a liquid filled cell phone once. My wife assumed the pockets of my trousers were empty when she threw them in the washer.

Posted

Wow :drool: Incredible time peice that is. THank you for posting Oz

Posted

Mate...

Do you get a kevlar and spandex super-suit and a matter/anti-matter disintegrator with one of those??? -LOL

That is the damnedest thing I have ever seen marketed as a wrist watch. Thanks for sharing. -Piggy

Posted

I can't seem to find the flux capacitor - can someone point it out in the picture for me, please? :lookaround:

Posted

Mate...

Do you get a kevlar and spandex super-suit and a matter/anti-matter disintegrator with one of those??? -LOL

That is the damnedest thing I have ever seen marketed as a wrist watch. Thanks for sharing. -Piggy

Was going to ask, does it have a mini-bar and convert into a life raft?

Posted

Completely amazing watch.

Way out of my price range though....

I'd love a really nice watch like that someday. Maybe for my retirement, if I last that long. :daydream:

Wouldn't we all Kieth :D

Fine Mecanical watches ,and Cuban Cigars not exactly cheap hobbies :o:(:)

OZ :cigar:

Posted

+1 on the toy comment, and -1 on "Price was surprisingly not uber-crazy. The HYT H1 in titanium will be priced at $45,000." , thet's Uber-crazy for a watch to me!

I think though that a lot of gold items we buy are alloys aren't they, based on the carats, 24K being pure, so 18K is probably 75% gold at a guess and the colour can be determined by the rest? Price in total must be determined by gold content, plus cost of other elements, plus possibly how difficult it is to produce?

Posted

I was going to say I'd be down for $3k...wait $45?! I'll get a Corum Golden Bridge or the Patek 5059.

Cool watch no doubt, I just couldnt get away with wearing that. Although I suspect it will be popular with the oil money kids trying to match their neon green Aventadors.

Posted

On a side note, there is no such thing as red/white/pink gold. At least, not naturally. They're alloys. You pay more for less purity, strange.

That is so interesting, because the newest Rolex and Cartier models come in Pink/red Gold. My Ebel watch is white gold. I guess the fashion statement is the priority then.

As for the value at 45K, a Patek Phillipe watch can cost 45K at the drop of a hat. I would rather have one of those instead of building one arm into a Popye the Sailor sporting one of these babies!

http://www.chrono24.com/en/patekphilippe/nautilus-mens-stainless-steel--id1742175.htm?usedOrNew=new&manufacturerIds=194&urlSubpath=/patekphilippe/prices-for-watches--new-6.htm

Hey, or if you are really looking for trouble...

http://www.chrono24.com/en/patekphilippe/grand-complication-5104p--id1957762.htm?usedOrNew=new&manufacturerIds=194&urlSubpath=/patekphilippe/prices-for-watches--new-5.htm

Posted

I bought my first Sub-Mariner watch in 1985. No one wanted one of them then. They were too bulky, small by today's standards, and people were more interested in slim electronic watches.

My taste has not changed so I wear the same type of watch today, when I wear a watch. I just don't understand this hugh watch thing. I mean there is a difference between a watch and a clock... right? Where does clock stop... and watch start? Or, if you add bands to a grandfather clock, does it become a watch?

Frankly I love the mechanical creativity. I mean in may ways this watch is a thing of beauty in the same way I see a new Cat D11. But I don't even know how to tell the time on it! While a Cat D11 has its uses, is this a timepiece or the manifestation of the cost of being different? Both I guess! Street treads on a D11... Anyone?

There are people who buy Hummers and put low profile street tires on them. They build fake waterfalls in their back yards!! They will spend $100.00 on a bunch of leaves with a gold band and shiny box!!! I don't get it!!!

One man's view of desirability is another's view of absurdity, I suppose. It make the world interesting, I guess! I think the watch is cool... maybe if it were nuclear powered! Yeah... my own nuke! -the Pig

Posted

I bought my first Sub-Mariner watch in 1985. No one wanted one of them then. They were too bulky, small by today's standards, and people were more interested in slim electronic watches.

My taste has not changed so I wear the same type of watch today, when I wear a watch. I just don't understand this hugh watch thing. I mean there is a difference between a watch and a clock... right? Where does clock stop... and watch start? Or, if you add bands to a grandfather clock, does it become a watch?

Frankly I love the mechanical creativity. I mean in may ways this watch is a thing of beauty in the same way I see a new Cat D11. But I don't even know how to tell the time on it! While a Cat D11 has its uses, is this a timepiece or the manifestation of the cost of being different? Both I guess! Street treads on a D11... Anyone?

There are people who buy Hummers and put low profile street tires on them. They build fake waterfalls in their back yards!! They will spend $100.00 on a bunch of leaves with a gold band and shiny box!!! I don't get it!!!

One man's view of desirability is another's view of absurdity, I suppose. It make the world interesting, I guess! I think the watch is cool... maybe if it were nuclear powered! Yeah... my own nuke! -the Pig

:clap::clap:

Well said Ray very witty and strangely true at the same time ;)

Personally I just love the Mechanics of watches especially the Swiss nobody does it better, and to the Noble profession of Horology and the cutting edge stuff is intriguing

OZ :cigar:

Posted

:clap::clap:

Well said Ray very witty and strangely true at the same time ;)

Personally I just love the Mechanics of watches especially the Swiss nobody does it better, and to the Noble profession of Horology and the cutting edge stuff is intriguing

OZ :cigar:

Cheers mate! I was hopin' that you were not thinking I was just baggin' on the post as that was not my intent.

Let me know when the Chernobyl version is available!!! -LOL

Posted

Speaking of watches, do people recall reading about Arnold's AP collection a while back? Awesome. Looks like they just made him the spokesperson. Lol

Posted

.

Perpetual calendars, retrograde, minute repeaters, etc are what I consider true complications (what you refer to as "mechanics").

Could not agree more Hovy :ok:

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