HYT Moon Runner Red Magma, the fusion phase of the moon

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The Moon Runner watch is the bearer of a philosophy that combines the ambition of scientific understanding, the perfect accuracy of the lunar phases, and the dream of a new understanding of how lunar cycles are perceived. “The form and unique shape are as important as the function“, says Davide Cerrato, HYT CEO and creative director. The representation of the moon is completely unprecedented, not only in its form, with the presence of the large celestial body, but also due to its central position at the heart of the technical measurement system presented by the timepiece. Around it are two titanium indicator disks that show the days and months, in addition to accurate time settings with a hand running on a customised graduation, with a 5-minute timer, and retrograde hours shown by the fluidic system.

Red moon: the most mysterious, the most exhilarating

Since Antiquity, the red moon has been a bearer of messages. An omen of power to some, warning signs of natural and meteorological phenomena to others, it has always been observed very closely, as well as with a certain fascination. Words to describe it vary. In some cultures, it is called a “blood moon” or a “copper moon”.

Offering a new way of looking at the matter, HYT has chosen to baptise its watch “Red Magma” to emphasise better the energetic and lively power of this shade which makes one think of both the moon and the heat from the bowels of the planets.

The link to Earth is particularly strong as when the red-coloured moon can be seen, this is in fact due to it being low on the horizon and the sunlight illuminating it is filtered through the Earth’s atmosphere. It is for this same reason that it also takes on a reddish hue during lunar eclipses, as while sunlight is essentially blocked by the shadow of the Earth, the moon still receives the same dispersed and scattered light as it passes through the Earth’s atmosphere.

Only 27 copies of the new HYT Moon Runner, with its unique and exclusive “Red Magma” colour, will be produced. A rare timepiece, intrinsically named for its uniqueness.

HYT Moon Runner Red Magma, a lunar watch

At the heart of the 48 mm diameter casing, 52.3 mm in length and 21.8 mm thick, made from hydrocarbon and titanium, partially encased in red, topped with an anti-reflective coating sapphire crystal glass dome, the black and red dial, with a 3D applied index and white luminescent numerals, clearly lays bare its intention and gives a large central place to the representation of the lunar body.

Contributing to the perfect legibility of this measurement instrument, the minute hand is covered with white Lumicast, as is the disk indicating the months and the disk indicating the days of the month, both with a mat black treatment and inscriptions enhanced with white Lumicast.

The titanium winding crown continues the overall style code of the piece with a black design. Shades are also present in the bi-material strap, made of black rubber and alcantara red, decorated with embossed and enhanced red stitching and finished with a black titanium clasp with glossy and sandblasted finishing.

The multi-layer middle case presents subtle openwork, and the sandwiched construction method of the watch overall, waterproof up to 50 metres, with a central protective titanium case for movement, allows optimal handling of the missions assigned to this new spacecraft.

The Moonrunner is driven by a manual winding mechanical movement, 601-MO calibre (41 rubies) at a frequency of 28,800 vibrations per hour (4 Hz) and with 72 hours’ power reserve.

This calibre was designed by Eric Coudray, a well-known master in the field. Under the guidance of Pur TEC, and with the assistance of Paul Clementy, second Prix Gaïa winner, the movement has developed a finer aesthetic and finish, with elegant satin finish or laser-treated or bead-blasted parts.

HYT, the UFO of luxury watchmaking

Returning to the very sources of the concept of the clepsydra and the passage of time, HYT’s designers wanted to apply a contemporary vision to it. It took more than ten years to develop fully the patented mecafluidic technology owned by the Neuchâtel brand, established in 2012.

That year, the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève [Geneva Watchmaking Grand Prix] innovation prize rewarded the brand’s inventiveness.

Sometimes described as the UFO watchmaker, HYT watches, with their style and enhancements, have brought a breath of fresh air to luxury watchmaking.

Davide Cerrato, a visionary designer takes the controls

Often introduced as a “master of neo-vintage watchmaking”, Davide Cerrato has produced numerous outstanding creations for well-known first-class watchmaking companies. However, Davide Cerrato is anything but nostalgic, and he who is known as the “master of vintage” among the watchmaking elite has decided to demonstrate that he can also be a designer with his eye on the future.

By joining HYT to guide not only style but also strategy, through his double role as CEO and creative director, at the company recently acquired by KTS (Kairos Technology Switzerland SA), Davide Cerrato is particularly excited to be able to express his creative inspirations freely. They draw their power from multiple transgenerational references, taking in the most daring or fun aspects of pop culture, such as the epic of space exploration or modern symbols of science fiction.

At a time when the dream of discovering the universe is once again finding its magic and strength, at the very time in which the desire to travel to space is becoming a tangible and concrete reality, the Moon Runner is an invitation to discover the moon from a new and original perspective.

HYT’s mecafluidic technology

“Mecafluidic technology is a new term in science and research, harnessed for use in luxury watchmaking. We have the ability to highlight the symbiotic nature of these two – mechanical and fluidic – technologies” says Davide Cerrato, HYT CEO and creative director.

As each HYT product is at the cutting edge of technology, each one is above all an item of mechanical luxury watchmaking dedicated to the pleasure of knowledgeable connoisseurs.

The mechanical beating heart gives its power and strength to the precise functioning of the watch. This precision is clear in the reading of the time settings. All the originality of HYT watches lies in the specific nature of this time indication: no classic hands, but instead the observation of the movement of the two fluids.

The perfect circulation of the fluids in microcapsules or “capillary tubes”, at the boundary between the micromechanical and chemical realms, gives HYT its uniqueness and originality: the first and only mecafluidic watch.

A quarter of a human hair, but 10,000 times more airtight than a classic watch.

How does it work? Observing the watch dial offers some insight. Two flexible reservoirs (called “bellows”) are attached to each end of a capillary. The thickness of the walls of this reservoir is of an extraordinary fineness of hardly a quarter of a human hair. The active, coloured fluid is in the first reservoir; the passive fluid is in the other reservoir. It is transparent.

The working principle relies on a mechanism that drives the two bellows. To keep the fluids separate, while controlling their progress through the bellows, engineers have tamed the physical phenomenon based on the repulsive force of the molecules in each fluid and the capillary walls. Immiscible fluids, meaning that they do not mix, and which are in permanent interaction, are at the heart of the watch.

To ensure the whole watch works with optimal reliability, the fluidic module must be perfectly airtight. In practice, its airtightness is 10,000 times greater than that of a diver’s watch. This is also the reason why the fluidic modules are permanently sealed.

A question that definitely arises for hi-tech fans is how do you offset the fluid expansion due to variations in temperature?

This is an important question about a valuable item, such as a wristwatch is – which is thus subject to body temperature – and naturally exposed to the changes and uncertainties of everyday life, both indoors and out. The key component is the thermal compensator inside one of the two bellows.

A trusted and optimised luxury watchmaking calibre

The other serious issue is clearly the synchronisation between the functioning of mechanical watchmaking and the movement of the fluids.

The movement of the Moon Runner is the 601 MO calibre designed by Eric Coudray.

Among the most remarkable aspects of this exceptional watch calibre is its ability to provide constant displacement and distribute enough energy so that the liquids flow at the desired speed inside the glass capillary. An increase by a minute of the liquid inside the glass tube is equivalent to a movement of 1.5 micron of the bellow. The choice of a manual winding movement is not insignificant: it ensures regular and seamless operation.

To allow a link between the fluidic system and the watch calibre, the movement has an oversized lever, called the “sensor”, which serves as a bridge as it allows a link to be made between the functioning of the cam, which transforms a circular movement into a straight-line movement, and that of the bellow, whose role is to regulate the movement of the two liquids. This cam, innovation introduced by Eric Couderay, allows a perfect synchronisation between the fluid time and the mechanical time.

In practice, once the lever is activated, the movement drives against a bellow allowing the uninterrupted flow of fluids for twelve hours. When it reaches 6 o’clock, the two liquids return to their initial position, giving a retrograde reading of the next six hours.

It should also be noted that during the retrograde backflow, the liquids are completely disconnected from the mechanism. The fluidic system itself regulates the return to the initial position in a fascinating way.

These technical features, complex at first, are in fact a real eye-catcher as the watch dial is constantly in action.

The sharp eyes of experts, collectors and lovers of luxury watchmaking will also rest on the finish of the calibre and the new casing of the overall piece. HYT’s team have paid very special attention to this. The outcome is obvious and clearly places the Moon Runner among the best standards of contemporary luxury watchmaking with exacting requirements of the workmanship of components. Such a quest for perfection, supported by the masterful expertise of traditional Swiss watchmakers, is combined by HYT with creative boldness, as demonstrated by the exclusive black finish.

Everything has been thought of carefully and in symbiosis: the finish of the watch calibre and the technological and modular casing. Overall, the entire quality chain process in watch production has been rethought and refined with the development of these new timepieces, relying on over a decade of practical experience. The perfect efficiency of the 601 CM calibre has also been tested to ensure its reliability.

Additional proof that the knowledge of this outstanding technology, as well as the exceptional unique nature of the ultra-efficient contemporary materials used, are also elements that boost the captivating and sensual allure of these watches, designed to stimulate the imagination.

HYT Moon Runner: a new way of understanding the phases of the moon

The HYT Moon Runner assumes its double nature perfectly, as a fine watchmaking timepiece with clearly legible precision functions; It is also designed as a celestial vehicle capable of taking its wearer on an emotional journey to the moon.

Observation of the moon, the Earth’s natural satellite, is one of the pillars of the development of science. The celestial body is a source of incomparable fascination for people, who have tried to understand its movements and effects since the dawn of time.

One of the first known representations of the moon is Orthostat 47, a sculpture on a rock discovered in Knowth, Ireland, which scientists date back to the third century BC. Found by archaeologists on a clay tablet in the ancient city of Ugarit, in the Near East, the oldest written record of an eclipse viewing dates back to 1223 BC. Babylonian astronomers developed understanding of moon cycles in the eighth century BC. From these initial milestones, understanding has only grown, and from the very beginning, watchmaking has contributed to the advancement of this knowledge.

Ultimate symbol of space travel, the journey to the moon is a constantly renewed desire since the first man set foot on it in July 1969. Even today, a certain number of realistic plans have been developed to open the doorway to space to a larger number of Earthlings.

Designed and produced by master Swiss watchmakers, this spacecraft from the HYT fleet, alongside the Hastroid, has already become a signature timepiece from the new lift-off of this independent watchmaking company.

Beyond appearances, the HYT Moon Runner watch was not born within the confine of the real or known worlds. Its origins lie on Planet Earth. In the heart of the mountains of Switzerland, it was imagined, conceived and developed in line with professional standards.

An art as traditional as it is ground-breaking, from the earliest time, instruments for measuring time have been the product of human creative genius, supported by science and formal creativity and design. The fluidic time indicator is inspired by the clepsydra, a primitive type of clock from Ancient Egypt, whose innovative principle was to allow water to flow from one jar to another to measure the passage and “flow” of time.

Retrograde hours and large minute hand

The coloured fluid it contains performs the function of indicating the retrograde hours. The components of the manual winding mechanical movement reveal themselves subtly through openwork workmanship at the back of the dial or plate.

This calibre was designed by Eric Coudray, a well-known master in the field. Under the guidance of the Tec Group, and with the assistance of Paul Clementi, Prix Gaïa winner, the movement has developed a finer aesthetic and finish, with elegant satin finish or laser-treated or bead-blasted parts.

Detailed work went into improving the readability of the dial and thus it has a large central pointed hand for the immediate reading of the minutes, whereas the two subdials, arranged as instruments on a dashboard, provide essential additional information: on the one hand, a small second movement, and on the other, the power reserve.

This same concern for clarity and readability led to special work on the luminescence to make the Hastroid bright even in the deepest darkest depths of outer space. Such technical elements simply reinforce the allure of this pionneering watch.