HYT, the so-called “Hydro Mechanical Horologists,” introduced quite a few color variations at this year’s Baselworld watch fair. Both the H1 and the H2 collection have been expanded with various metals, with and without coating, used for the cases, and various colors of fluids to indicate the hours. Here are two that we’ve covered on Monochrome-watches.com: the H1 ‘Iceberg,” a variation on the H1 with a white-and-ice-blue color combination, the coolest version of the H1 collection; and the HYT H2 Titanium & White Gold, perhaps the best-looking new piece in the entire HYT line.
The new HYT H1 Iceberg features a similar color scheme for the already well-known technical “dial” and case of the HYT H1. As HYT refers to it in the press release: “the azure fluid compliments the complexity of the mechanics, whilst adding a touch of lightness and a breath of fresh air.”
The HYT H1 Iceberg is a limited edition of 50 pieces, and will be available from the end of August 2014 for $60,000.
Some specifications:
- Case: titanium with brushed, shot-peened and satin-finished surfaces; diameter = 48.8 mm; thickness = 17.9 mm; blue rubber-clad screw-lock crown; titanium crown guard; titanium dome at 6 o’clock; curved sapphire crystal with nonreflective coating on the inside; screw-down sapphire caseback; water-resistant to 100 meters
- Functions: retrograde blue fluid hours; minutes, seconds
- Movement: mechanical hand-wound, exclusive HYT caliber; 28,800 vph (4 Hz); 35 jewels; bridges hand-chamfered and adorned with côtes de Genève; rhodium-coated bellows; 65-hour power reserve
- Strap: White rubber, also available in black gummy alligator; titanium pin buckle. (Photo courtesy of Watchonista.)
The HYT H2 was introduced last year, shortly before Baselworld 2013, as a limited edition of just 50 pieces. The new Titanium & White Gold Blue version of the H2 is even more limited, to just 20 pieces, and priced at $160,000.
The “dial” features a magnificent display of high tech, featuring gears, levers, bridges, and a beautiful balance wheel that is held in place by a very elegant, yet robust, balance bridge. Of course the iconic bellows and the system of feelers, cams and pistons are also exposed in all their technical beauty. All new HYT timepieces are equipped with a compensator for temperature variations. This means that all HYT watches, both H1 models and H2 models, will always display the correct time, by means of the central minute hand plus the indication of hours via the fluid-filled tube. And there’s just something so incredibly “likable” about the blue fluids in the hour-indicating tube and the white metals.
The HYT H2 offers three more functions than does the H1: the additions are a power-reserve indicator, a temperature indicator and an “H-N-R” indicator. The latter is connected to the crown and tells the wearer in which position the crown is, H for setting the time, N for neutral, and R for winding (remonter in French). Please see our previous article about the first H2 for more technical explanation.
Some specifications:
- Case: titanium and white gold, microblasted and satin finished; diameter = 48.8 mm; thickness = 17.9 mm; domed sapphire crystal (box) with nonreflective coating; screwed sapphire caseback; water-resistant to 50 meters
- Movement: exclusive HYT manual winding movement; 21,600 vph (3 Hz), 28 jewels, 192-hour (8-day) power reserve; titanium bridges
- Functions: retrograde blue fluidic hours; minutes with jumping hand at 30 minutes; crown position indicator (H-N-R); temperature indicator
- Strap: leather with blue stitching; black DLC titanium pin buckle
