HYT H1 Velvet Gun

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Titanium velvet gun PVD with brushed, shot-peened and satin-finished surfaces

An encounter between Fine Watchmaking and fluid mechanics.

An encounter between Fine Watchmaking and fluid mechanics. One might say a utopia. Shattering all certainties, steamrollering conformity, the idea that led to the H1 was simple and consisted of two flexible reservoirs fixed to each end of a capillary. In one was an aqueous liquid filled with fluorescein, and in the other, a transparent viscous liquid. To keep them separate : the repulsive force of the molecules in each liquid, with a meniscus to mark the boundary between the two.

As the hours go by, the fluorescent liquid advances. The meniscus, in the shape of a half moon, marks the breaking point with the other fluid in the tube, indicating the time. At 18:00, the fluorescent liquid comes back to its original position, going backwards. The secret that gets the reservoirs going ? Two bellows made of a highly resistant, flexible electro-deposited alloy, each driven by a piston. And this is where watchmaking comes in to activate the system.

A MECHANICAL MOVEMENT TO ACTIVATE THE HYDRO SYSTEM

Orchestrated by Brino Moutarlier, alongside Jean-François Mojon and his Chronode SA team, a mechanical movement is situated in the upper part of the watch, and propels a cam, which pushes the piston and activates the bellows.

The main challenge lay in finding an interface between the mechanical movement and the hydro system in a closed, waterproof circuit - a task further complicated by the limited space available to house them both. They had to be assembled separately to keep them independent, and then made to operate simultaneously. This is a highly delicate modular integration, which involves other constraints, such as the installation of the dial in two parts, through the sides.

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Ref.: 148-VG-10-GF-RA
Limited edition of 50 pieces

Case    
Titanium velvet gun PVD with brushed, shot-peened and satin-finished surfaces

  • diameter: 48.8 mm
  • thickness: 17.9 mm
  • black rubber-clad screw-lock crown
  • crown guard screw-locked added lugs
  • titanium velvet gun PVD dome at 06:00 
  • cambered sapphire crystal glass with anti-reflective coating on the inside
  • screw-down sapphire back
  • water-resistant to 100 meters

Movement    
Mechanical hand-wound, exclusive HYT calibre

  • 28,800 vph, 4 Hz, 35 jewels
  • Bridges hand-chamfered and adorned with Côtes de Genève, rhodiumed bellows
  • 65-hour power reserve.

Dial    
Unstructured, fluid jours

  • Black hour dial, black indexes and grey numerals
  • Silver rhodium minute dial, white indexes and numerals, white minute hand
  • Luminescent hand and hour-markers
  • Regulator at 12:00
  • Small seconds wheel at 09:30
  • Power reserve indicator at 02:30

Functions    

  • Retrograde fluid hours; minutes, seconds