It’s good to know where light comes from; it’s better to know where it leads. In the boldly dynamic FLOW timepieces, HYT takes the craftsmanship of mechanical watchmaking into a new age of enlightenment. Mechanics replace electronics as the unexpected catalyst of illumination, with a proprietary new complication generating light on demand. The resultant rays exercise their technically-sourced brilliance to reflect the energized momentum of current times.
Let there be light
HYT’s FLOW watches mirror the brand’s relentless quest to bring innovation that resonates with its contemporary context. Literally speaking, light brightens what already exists; figuratively it brings deeper understanding. The latter describes these timepieces’ purpose in the watchmaking arena. They are about the possibilities that emerge when performance enters new territories. Triggered by a pusher, a specially developed micro-generator stores and dispels the energy to activate 8 or 13 meticulously positioned LEDs, according to the version. These then visibly spread light evenly across the dial, mimicking a natural wave. Element by element, the illumination reveals the various “stories” that make up the piece’s time-telling capacity, never allowing us to lose sight of time’s unstoppable flow.
Two variations on the HYT FLOW theme, both limited editions, play very different games with the emitted light.
On one, a dome of 73 baguette-cut 1.7-carat diamonds dances spectacularly to rhythms derived from the 13 LEDs below it. Just as time’s flow is constant, this unique horological light show is a theatre for continual, energized change uniting jewelry and light thanks to the dynamic reflection and refraction. Innovation meets beauty and quite literally dances the night away.
Another execution addresses the concept of infinity through a precisely tapered vortex shape. Here the imagination is invited to visualize a revolving, apparently never-ending flow down towards the bellows, as a side-aperture welcomes the light emitted by 8 LEDs. The limitlessness of infinity fits neatly into the focus on time’s inevitable transience.
Tension please
In the HYT FLOW, opposites do far more than attract – they form a rich source of design energy. An apparently contradictory combination of liquid and electric light set the scene; the bold asymmetrical shape of the 51 mm case and vibrant colour choices pick up the thread. A visual wave sweeps around its side, reminding that stopping time’s momentum is never an option. This well-considered curve tempts the eye to explore new perspectives on time, a vital element of modern life.
A ring of Super-LumiNova® documents the antithesis of night and day. Polished accents on the circular-brushed case underline specific elements such as bezel angles. This is an appropriate overture to the three-dimensional character of the opaline-finished grey dials, where “metallic” and “velvety” sit together comfortably in the descriptive dictionary. Sophisticated electro-erosion adds a further signature to the theme of tension with its use of electric current to physically cut out strips of metal to obtain the wave illusion. The high-energy appearance of the dials’ backgrounds contrasts with the calmer, more minimalistic time indication. Concave and convex surfaces tease each other, as the eye peeps behind the waves to catch a glimpse of the intriguing mechanical mechanism below.
It’s flow time. 24/7
HYT FLOW Technical Specifications and Price
Flow Blue Fluid Ref.: H02464
Limited edition 25 pieces
Functions
- Blue fluidic hours
- Minutes, seconds, power reserve
Case
- Stainless steel, satin finishes
- Diameter: 51mm
- Height: 20.6mm
- Stainless steel crown
- Stainless steel light module push-button crown
- Domed sapphire crystal
- Screwed case-back, sapphire crystal, “one of twenty-five” print
- Water-resistant to 30 meters
HYT’s exclusive patented micro-fluidic module
- Borosilicate glass capillary tube, nano-coating interior
- Multi-layer metal bellows
- Two immiscible liquids; one transparent, the other one coloured with a highly resistant dye
- Thermal compensator with dedicated bellow and specific liquid
- High-tech ceramic fluidic restrictors
Movement
- Mechanical with manual winding, exclusive calibre
- 28,800 Vph, 4 Hz, 35 jewels
- Rhodium thinly-sandblasted bridges
- 65-hour power reserve
Interface
- Transmission between movement and fluidic module by conversion of rotation into linear movement using a cam-follower system
- Isostatic connection of the fluidic system guaranteed by a trident
White light mechanical module
- Winding function using the push-button crown
- Light activated by pressing the push-button crown. 2 seconds of illumination per single pressions (up to 4 pressions before rewinding the crown) or minimum 8 seconds of illumination if push-button continually pressed.
- Dome set with baguette-cut diamonds lit by 13 LEDs located under the dome and powered directly by a micro-generator
Dial
- Rhodium opaline openwork dial
- Brushed hour counter, anthracite numerals, circular thread with white Super-LumiNova®
- White Super-LumiNova® rail under the capillary
- Dome invisibly set with 73 baguette-cut diamonds, 1.7ct
- Brushed minute counter, anthracite index, circular thread with white Super-LumiNova®, rhodium satin minute hand with white Super-LumiNova®
- Orange openwork seconds disc
- Power reserve indicator, orange hand
Strap
- Orange rubber, titanium folding buckle
Price
- The suggested retail price of this model is CHF 149’000.-
Flow Black Fluid Ref.: H02593
Limited edition 25 pieces
Functions
- Black fluidic hours
- Minutes, seconds, power reserve
Case
- Stainless steel, satin finishes
- Diameter: 51mm
- Height: 20.6mm
- Stainless steel crown
- Stainless steel light module push-button crown
- Domed sapphire crystal
- Screwed case-back, sapphire crystal, “one of twenty-five” print
- Water-resistant to 30 meters
HYT’s exclusive patented micro-fluidic module
- Borosilicate glass capillary tube, nano-coating interior
- Multi-layer metal bellows
- Two immiscible liquids; one transparent, the other one coloured with a highly resistant dye
- Thermal compensator with dedicated bellow and specific liquid
- High-tech ceramic fluidic restrictors
Movement
- Mechanical with manual winding, exclusive calibre
- 28,800 Vph, 4 Hz, 35 jewels
- Rhodium thinly-sandblasted bridges
- 65-hour power reserve
Interface
- Transmission between movement and fluidic module by conversion of rotation into linear movement using a cam-follower system
- Isostatic connection of the fluidic system guaranteed by a trident
White light mechanical module
- Winding function using the push-button crown
- Light activated by pressing the push-button crown. 2 seconds of illumination per single pressions (up to 4 pressions before rewinding the crown) or minimum 8 seconds of illumination if push-button continually pressed.
- Dial lit by 8 LEDs located in the ring and powered directly by a micro-generator
Dial
- Anthracite opaline openwork dial
- Brushed hour counter, anthracite numerals, circular thread with C7 Super-LumiNova®
- C7 Super-LumiNova® rail under the capillary
- Polished ring, circular thread with C7 Super-LumiNova®
- Brushed minute counter, anthracite index, circular thread with C7 Super-LumiNova®, rhodium satin minute hand with C7 Super-LumiNova®
- Red openwork seconds disc
- Power reserve indicator, red hand
Strap
- Red rubber, titanium folding buckle
Price
- The suggested retail price of this model is CHF 79’000.-
What makes us FLOW
Once upon a time, philosophy set science in motion. It was 2012. The setting was a digital world, where time on demand had become the new, and precariously temporary, happy ending. Every single second of the day. But if time gains meaning through the content its owner gives it, why continually dispose of it in this way? That is the question HYT answers. This radical watch creator turned to advanced technology to measure what matters: time’s insuppressible flow. Overcoming the force of gravity, they set out to visualize the intrinsic motion of time using liquids. To trace the journey through past, present and future that makes up life itself. Their happy ending is a continual new beginning. HYT succeeded in enabling soon to become now, always.
Each HYT timepiece is a seamless, harmonious union of science, art and design, born of the brand’s unique philosophy on time. A patented, mechanically driven fluidic module is the source of this world of possibility. Coloured and clear liquids trace the paths of elapsed and pending time. Their meeting point is the present, a constantly moving, beautifully suspended milestone. By showcasing time’s passage, every watch is an invitation to value what was, what is and what may be. Not for a second should we forget that, like a river, this vital flow can’t be stopped.
HYT tells time’s stories and these are always tales of the unexpected. Creative tension between craftsmanship and technology generates operational and esthetic energy. Radical transparency and three-dimensionality house miniscule detail. The bellows – with walls four times thinner than a human hair – act as time’s powerhouse. The serious business of time’s transience is given a playful wink and grin by a skull. Light acts as a key protagonist in a theatre of visual uniqueness… With HYT every day is flow time.