HYT : Light rules

H4 Metropolis 

Case : titanium and black DLC titanium (bezel and dome at 6 o’clock), domed sapphire crystal, metallic screw-down sapphire case-back, water-resistant to 50m Diameter : 41mm Movement : mechanical hand-wound (exclusive caliber, 65h power reserve), additional barrel for micro-generator, hand-beveled bridges, rhodium-plated bellows and mainplate Functions : retrograde fluidic hours, minutes, small seconds wheel between 9 and 10 o’clock, power-reserve indicator between 2 and 3 o’clock Dial : unstructured, sapphire Strap : black rubber base with integrated NOMEXTM fabric center, black DLC titanium folding clasp 100-piece limited edition

For three years now, the HYT hydromechanical concept has been stirring horological passions, interpreted through more than 20 world-first models displaying the time by means of a colored fluid mechanically pumped through a capillary tube. The avant-garde brand that has filed a number of patents is now introducing an integrated mechanical micro-generator wound via a push-button between 4 and 5 o’clock that bathes part of the dial in light. Strategically sited beneath the rider-tab at 6 o’clock, the two LED lights of the new H4 shine their rays across the bellows, the fluid indicating the time and the skeleton movement derived from the original H1. Unquestionably intended for “enlightened” connoisseurs and other Haute Horlogerie “bright sparks”, the H4 with built-in light source comes in two limited series : 100 in titanium for the Metropolis (above) and 25 in carbon for the Alinghi variation named after the two-time winner of the America’s Cup partnered by HYT (see page 106). The H4 Metropolis also incidentally indicates the hours, minutes, seconds and power reserve !


Brice Lechevalier is editor-in-chief of GMT and Skippers, which he co-founded in 2000 and 2001 respectively. He has also been CEO of WorldTempus since it joined the GMT Publishing stable, of which he is director and joint shareholder. In 2012 he created the Geneva Watch Tour, and he has been an advisor to the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève since 2011. Also closely involved in sailing, he has published the magazine of the Société Nautique de Genève since 2003, and was one of the founders of the SUI Sailing Awards in 2009 and the Concours d’Elégance for motor boats at the Cannes Yachting Festival in 2015.

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