Today, HYT is proud to announce its admittance to the group of partner brands of the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie (FHH). By rewriting the Haute Horlogerie rulebook and boldly reinventing its traditions, without ever compromising on excellence, HYT has earned its place in Haute Horlogerie perimeter as defined by the Foundation. The relationship between HYT and the FHH is set to flourish even further.

"We are delighted that the FHH has chosen to recognise our innovative, non-conformist and creative nature, a creativity which is still expressed within the strict framework of Haute Horlogerie", explains Grégory Dourde, CEO of HYT. "In theory, integrating fluid technology in a mechanical watch was akin to trying to unite two opposing worlds. However, we achieved it and today, HYT employs around 48 staff working on five permanent collections - about 400 pieces a year. For the entire team, which has overcome so much, and for all of our customers, who have believed in us for the last five years, it is both an endorsement and an incentive to forge ahead in our quest to invent the watches of the future". 

HYT in a few words

HYT’s Hydromechanical Horologists have turned fantasy into reality, mixing mechanics and liquid within a wristwatch. While addicted to non-conformism, these alchemists have drawn upon the strictest codes of fine watchmaking, and shattered them. 

The principle

Two flexible reservoirs with a capillary attached at each end. In one, a coloured liquid; in the other, a transparent one. Keeping them apart is the repulsion force of the molecules in each fluid. 

The hours are indicated by the coloured liquid released from a flexible reservoir compressed by a piston. These reservoirs, or bellows, are located at six o’clock and are made from a supple alloy. The first coloured liquid travels through the capillary pushing the transparent one back into its own reservoir and then returning to its original position at six o’clock in what is referred to as a retrograde manner.

The two reservoirs at 06:00. While the first compresses, the second expands, and the other way round, resulting in the movement of the liquid in the capillary. As the hours go by, the coloured liquid advances. The meniscus, in the shape of a half moon, marks the separation point with the other fluid in the tube, indicating the time. At 18:00, the coloured liquid comes back to its original position, going backwards. 

The secret that gets the reservoirs going? Two bellows made of a highly resistant, flexible alloy, each driven by a piston. And this is where watchmaking comes in to activate the system.

In 2013, HYT launched its H2 Collection, a new class of time pieces born from a close partnership with Audemars Piguet Renaud Papi and managed under the steady guidance of Giulio Papi. This partnership was renewed in 2015 to continue HYT’s ground-breaking work in fluid technology and also to develop a new collection: the H3 that once again reiterated HYT’s commitment to creating pieces that continuously surprise and challenge at every opportunity.

In 2015 two more legendary collections were introduced: the Skull & the H4. The most difficult aspect when creating the Skull was to transform the circular shape of the capillary to give it a skull like appearance. This was due to both the technical and the esthetical constraints of bending a glass tube that measures less than 1 millimeter in diameter. The H4 is equipped with a micro generator that converts mechanical energy into light allowing the wearer to read the time in the dark. A first in the horological industry. 

The founders & the CEO

Patrick Berdoz, Lucien Vouillamoz, Emmanuel Savioz, Vincent Perriard 

Grégory Dourde (CEO)

HYT in a few figures

Objectives realized in 2015:

• Production: sale of 400 pieces
• 66 points of sale
• 13 novelties launched

2016 Pipeline Objectives:

• More than 80 points of sale
• 7 novelties will be launched in 2016
• 46 staff members between HYT and Preciflex (HYT’s sister company)
• Opening of the first HYT Boutique in Kuala Lumpur (February)