A Watch Like No Other: HYT

It’s not that there is no innovation in the watch industry. There is. From using lighter materials, to tapping into more sources of power, to, miraculously, finding ways to improve accuracy, horology is, of course, obsessed with improvement. And that’s not even mentioning smartwatches, a niche that is nothing if not innovative. But, even compared with all that, what HYT has done, and is doing, is remarkable, different, and new.

They’ve tapped into a well of technology and imagination, and created timepieces that fully integrate liquid and mechanics. Telling time with the most ancient means available—the movement of liquid. Maybe it’s that connection to the past that has made their mission so engaging. While other watchmakers look forward in order to move forward, HYT meets the future while splitting its focus between the future and the past.

It’s unique and powerful. There are no limits.

Now, never satisfied, HYT—and their assembled group of scientists, watchmakers, and business masterminds have released the H3. It’s a watch like no other. Visually arresting, opening a window into some steampunk future even the most gifted fiction writers couldn’t imagine.

“Imagine,” says HYT CEO Vincent Perriard, “who would not be seduced by a powerful watch — really, a toy for men — with an elegant design, where a manufactured movement activates two pistons — like a real machine — that allows a liquid to travel through a capillary with a diameter less than 1mm, knowing that this liquid indicates the time?” And while it’s true that Perriard clearly understands luxury, and the men who seek it, he also knows he’s not done yet.

 

H1 Cigar

HYT H1 Cigar

When was the moment when you were first inspired to be a part of HYT and Hydro Mechanical watches?

I had an old dream in mind, almost a fantasy – to create a mechanical watch incorporating a liquid. I had been close to achieving this aim by creating the Quantum Gravity at Concord, which featured liquid in a tourbillon watch. But we were still far from what we were going to be able to achieve with HYT. The brand vision is unique: to combine a liquid with a mechanical watch. It’s unique and powerful. There are no limits.

Tell me about finding that perfect balance between aesthetics and technology.

We started everything from scratch. As we were introducing a revolutionary technology in the industry, we wanted to bring a bold, but traditional shape to the watch that could be masculine enough to reflect our brand DNA; it is why the H1 and the H2 have a round case.

Afterwards, we created a clear separation between the fluidic module (located on the south of the watch) and the watchmaking movement (on the north part) inside the watchcase.

HYT H2

HYT H2

Speaking of technology, the H2 has found some medical applications?

The H1 and the H2 possess the same technology (a fluidic module with a pumping system powered by two bellows and a piston). Given the huge amount of research (and investment) poured into this new technology, it is hardly surprising that the sister-company of HYT, Preciflex, wants to see it applied beyond the realms of watchmaking.

We were all so fascinated by making a dream come true…

The Preciflex’s micro and meso-fluidic expertise, its growing patent library and its in-house skills in fields as varied as fluid mechanics, micro-mechanics, electronics, chemistry — the company is now producing its own fluids — and optics make it predestined to adapt the technology for applications such as the diffusion of liquids in cosmetics, and micro-injections for the medical industry.

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