A vintage Manhattan fire engine in wristwatch form is careering out of HYT’s house, all gleaming gold fixtures, crimson red accents and of course the watchmaker’s signature liquid capillary ‘hose’, circling the dial and indicating the time at the interface of its immiscible crimson and clear fluids.
Continuing the Neuchâtel brand’s uneven but determined saga since 2012 – now in its fourth incarnation at the hands of CEO Vahé Vartzbed since June last year, after going bust in 2021 and being bought by Swiss tech firm KTS – the ‘S1 5N Gold Titanium Red’ is an admittedly compelling new timepiece that infuses the acclaimed S1 Series with an electrifying crimson energy.
HYT has never felt more coherent or confident – something that might be thanks to Mr Vartzbed’s impressive pedigree, chez Greubel Forsey.
It showcases HYT’s mastery of colour and contrast, featuring a vibrant red fluid flowing through the signature capillary tube and a matching red power reserve indicator that adds drama to a sophisticated gold and titanium combo.
The striking scarlet fluid courses through the borosilicate capillary, creating a mesmerising, literal ‘flow’ of time, complemented by the warm 5N-grade red gold paired with titanium black diamond-like carbon (DLC) coating.
Breathing at the heart of things are two concertina-style (‘aneroid’ in barometer terms) evacuated capsules, or bellows. Derived from the aerospace industry, this component has extremely thin walls, equivalent to a quarter of the thickness of a human hair. The two bellows contract and expand to inject the coloured fluid into the capillary, which indicates the hour in a retrograde fashion, pumping the meniscus of the two fluids back anticlockwise to ‘zero’ at every ’12 o’clock’ in a dramatic rest.
An essential microcomponent, the thermal compensator, then regulates the volume of liquid according to temperature variations, thus ensuring the stability and precision of the mechanism.
CHF 76,000 (excl taxes); hytwatches.com