HYT – Moon Runner Supernova Blue Edition

 

HYT Watches – Moon Runner Supernova Blue 48mm Black Titanium Edition 2022 

Supernova Blue Moon Runner: the new blue moon

Across time and space, a new kind of spacecraft is relentlessly exploring the watchmaking galaxy on the lookout for new unique expressions of the watchmaker's art...

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Contemporary timepieces designed by HYT, exclusive owners of mecafluidic technology, the symbiotic marriage of science and micromechanics, are propelling the creativity of luxury watchmaking into a new universe. Transforming usual perceptions, HYT develops extraordinary time measurement instruments. With HYT, preparations are on for the future and watchmaking is undergoing a transformation.
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Get on board now for a new opus in the HYT saga: Mission Moon Runner
Mission objective: A new expression in the representation of the moon.
Flight plan: Launch and orbit on 28 March 2022.
Instrument: HYT Supernova Blue Moon Runner

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 has been a permanent wish list fixture 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.

In 2022, HYT offers new perspectives on the moon

2022 marks a new stage in the understanding of lunar cycles with the launch of an original new indicator: the HYT Moon Runner watch designed by Davide Cerrato, CEO and creative director of the independent contemporary watchmaking company.  

A new pivotal part of the HYT range, the Moon Runner 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 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. "The form and unique shape are as important as the function", says Davide Cerrato, HYT CEO and creative director. 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.

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The HYT Moon Runner assumes its dual 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. 

Designed and produced by master Swiss watchmakers, this new iconic spacecraft from the HYT fleet joins the Hastroid. With its manual winding mechanical movement and cutting-edge equipment, it combines the classic sophistication of watchmaking knowledge and advances in science with its mecafluidic technique.

HYT, recognised as an independent contemporary watchmaker

Sometimes described as the UFO watchmaker, HYT watches, with their style and enhancements, have brought a breath of fresh air to luxury watchmaking. Advances that are now clearly identified by the sharpest connoisseurs and collectors of extraordinary timepieces. The patented mecafluidic technology belongs to the Neuchâtel company, established in 2012. That year, the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève [Geneva Watchmaking Grand Prix] innovation prize rewarded the brand's inventiveness.  

The centrepiece of the mechanism lies in the fluid system, with two central "bellow" reservoirs, whose design unique to HYT creations reinforces the character and feeling of power, and the capillary surrounding the dial. For the Supernova Blue Moon Runner, the liquid used for the retrograde time indicator function is coloured a special "Supernova Blue".

Blue moon: the rarest

Blue is clearly not the most frequent colour in lunar observation. It is in fact the rarest colour. While "blue moons" certainly exist, astronomers use this term to refer to an "additional" full moon when this rare astronomical phenomenon occurs, giving 13 full moons in a year instead of 12.  

Only 27 copies of the new HYT Moon Runner, with its unique and exclusive "Supernova Blue" colour, will be produced. A rare timepiece, intrinsically named for its uniqueness.

HYT Supernova Blue Moon Runner: the new lunar craft.  

At the heart of the 48 mm diameter casing, 52.3 mm in length and 13.3 mm thick, made from grey and blue titanium, topped with an anti-reflective coating sapphire crystal glass dome, the black brass dial is painted blue, with a 3D applied index and white luminescent numerals, clearly laying bare its intention and giving 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 Super-LumiNova®, 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 Super-LumiNova®.  

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 blue, decorated with embossed and enhanced blue stitching and finished with a black titanium clasp with glossy and sandblasted finishing.

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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 Moon Runner is driven by a manual winding mechanical movement, 601-MO calibre (41 rubies) at a frequency of 28,800 vibrations per hour (4 Hertz) 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 Clementi, 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'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.    

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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, 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.

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.  

Engineers have tamed the physical phenomenon based on the repulsive force of the molecules in each fluid and the capillary walls to keep the fluids separate, while controlling their progress through the bellows. The fluids are immiscible, meaning that they do not mix, and are in permanent interaction, at the heart of the watch.

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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 ability to provide constant displacement and distribute enough energy so that the liquids flow at the desired speed inside the glass capillary is one of the most remarkable features of the exceptional watch calibres developed by HYT. 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, an 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.

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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 teams have paid very special attention to this.
The outcome is obvious and clearly places the HYT 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. 

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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 and immerse you in a dream that takes you beyond the limits of the Earth. It is now time to reach for the moon.

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TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Collections:  Moon Runner Supernova Blue

Reference H02758-A  - Edition - Only 27 pieces

Case:
Technological sandblasted grey & blue coated titanium case
Sandblasted crown in black & technological grey coated titanium
Width 48.00 mm
Lenght 58.30 mm
Height 17.90 mm
Water-resistant: 50 metres
Domed sapphire crystal (box) with anti-reflective coating

Black side grids with blue background
Functions:

• - Retrograde fluidique hours
• - 27
• - Day of the month
• - Month
• - 3D Moon phase

Movement:
Mechanical with manual winding, exclusive caliber 
Calibre 601-MO
Frequency: 28,800 Vph, 4 Hz, 41 jewels
Finishing: Finely sandblasted and sating
Coating & Color: Black coating
 72-hour power reserve
Dial:
Black & blue anodized aluminium
3D black coated appliques, white luminous numbers (Lumicast)
Black grid with blue background
Blue liquid inside borosilicate capillary tube
Hands
Black mat minutes hands, white SLN
Black mat day of month disk, white SLN
Black mat months disk, white SLN
All SLN in Lumicast
Strap:
Black rubber strap, Blue Microfibre embossed strap decor
Blue stitching
Buckle simple. Black coated titanium, Satin & sandblasted finishies

 

Limited edition of 27 pieces

🔰Price: CHF 100,000.00 💰

#HYTWATCHES
#HYTNOVELTY
#HYTMoonRunner


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Press releases - 2022
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RESERVOIR – SONOMASTER Chronograph

 

RESERVOIR watches – SONOMASTER Bi-Retrograde Chronograph - 2022

POINT OF “VU” : THE NEW RESERVOIR SONOMASTER CHRONOGRAPH
WATCH TAKES INSPIRATION FROM VINTAGE AUDIO AMPLIFIER AND APPLY THE MEASURING OF SOUND TO THE MEASURING OF TIME !

The new RESERVOIR collection takes its inspiration from measuring instruments widely used in the world of sound or Hi-Fi. The two retrograde hands of the new RESERVOIR Sonomaster Chronograph faithfully reproduce the hands of power measurements or VU meters from analog stereo amplifiers. This strong milestone for RESERVOIR celebrates the human quest to create pure sound, a musical exploration full of audacity and intensity.

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This bi-retrograde (date and seconds at 120°) watch inaugurates the first chronograph model from RESERVOIR (central second, 30-minute counter at 12, hour counter at 6). The watch is powered by the new watchmaking caliber RSV-Bi120: a manufacture bi-retrograde chronograph movement, automatic mechanical winding, and column wheel (base LJP-L1C0).

THE DILEMMA OF DIGITAL OR ANALOG READING OF MEASURING INSTRUMENTS

 

Retrograde hands – RESERVOIR’s preferred and distinctive means of display offers a plethora of practical advantages, along with that frisson of visual delight as it flies back to zero after completing its arc. It is the most “analogue” of techniques, almost a poster child for traditionalists who prefer such meters to digital read-outs. And “analogue vs digital” is a battle that has raged concurrently in at least three industries.

Car makers were among the first to realise that drivers found both speedometers and tachometers could communicate more swiftly with a needle traversing a scale than plain digits. LCD bars which read “70kph” or “4500rpm” lack the instant impact of a dial, whether round, crescent-shaped or rectangular. Even the most advanced of today’s hypercars feature analogue speedometers and tachometers, though they may be representations on a screen rather than “real” gauges. 

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For the watch industry, the analogue vs digital chasm is less clear-cut, because a couple of generations of consumers weaned on digital clocks and now smart watches are non-committal, content with either. This explains why makers of smart watches also offer dials that look like traditional analogue watch faces. It tells you that even “pretend” analogue images have retained much of the appeal of physical hands-and-dials. For serious collectors of mechanical watches, dials and hands remain the rule.

As for the third industry which has retained analogue metering, even as it embraced digital technology, it’s the music business – both the professional sector and home users. Since the beginning of radio broadcasts and performances that were recorded electronically for playback in the home, both arriving in the 1920s, there has been a need for the engineers to measure the signal. The object was to avoid overloading the recording device, which would lead to distortion – the unpleasant sonic artefacts which make a recording sound artificial.

BACK TO THE ORIGINS OF THE VU METER

Like speed, engine revolutions and time, sound levels are best measured and presented by a slim needle against a scale. The recording and broadcast industries had been using mechanical meters which were not as “fast” as sound itself, so the peaks – the maximum levels at which the sound remains undistorted and which shouldn’t be exceeded – were not captured accurately in real time. Seasoned engineers knew how to read the meters, aided by their trained hearing, but there was a need for something faster, more precise, and more revealing. It would serve as an industry standard. Above all, it had to be easy to read, as quickly as the signals it was representing.

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Through the combined efforts of a number of organisations in the USA, including the Institute of Radio Engineers, Bell Telephone Laboratories and broadcasters NBC and CBS, a device called a “VU” meter arrived in 1940. The letters stand for “Volume Unit”, and it was developed to measure all manner of electronic signals, including the sounds going into a mixing desk or tape deck in a recording studio, the strength of a radio broadcast signal, the power output of an amplifier or the sound pressure levels in the listening space (also referred to as “volume” or “loudness”).

By 1942, the VU meter had been standardised for telephone installation and radio broadcast stations, ultimately appearing on every type of audio equipment, up to and including one model of modern headphones which has them on each earpiece. Clearly, the mere appearance of a VU meter creates a tech-y aesthetic, a functional “cool” but with retro overtones. After all, a VU meter is an electromechanical device, unlike digital displays, which are entirely electronic, and all VU meters evoke the pre-digital age.

A SIMILAR OPERATION BETWEEN THE RETROGRADE CLOCK HAND AND THE VU METER

VU meters have appeared in countless forms, but all share the basic elements of a slim needle pivoting against a scale drawn in an arc or a straight line. VU meters using the latter are reminiscent of horizontal speedometers found in American cars of the 1950s and 1960s. The action of a VU meter’s needle is the same as a retrograde hand in a watch: the needles do not ascribe a 360 circle, as do conventional watch hands, but swing back-and-forth.

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Defining the graduations on the scale is the role the meter serves, whether it’s measuring decibels to show the loudness of a signal, wattage to indicate the power of an amplifier, voltages, or other electronic information. Just as tachometers have a “red line” to warn a driver not to abuse an engine, so do VU meters have a red zone at the end of the scale to indicate the onset of distortion, overload or other ills.

VU meter shapes have evolved from round to rectangular, both remaining popular. The background can be any colour, provided the scale and the needle offer enough contrast. Most popular are black scales on white or cream dial surfaces, but white against black works, too, because most VU meters most are illuminated. 

Various hi-fi manufacturers have personalised their meters to render their equipment instantly recognisable, with veteran brand Luxman opting for a golden glow, EAR-Yoshino using kidney-shaped apertures over their meters, D’Agostino’s massive round meter features a Breguet-style hand, while McIntosh is world-famous for its blue-lit VU meters.  

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As mixing desk, tape deck, and amplifier designers will tell you, VU meters persist in all audio-related areas because they are as instinctive as an analogue watch dial. It’s not that record producers, engineers, or audiophiles are luddites. Mixing desks and tape decks have long been available with displays in the form of coloured bars of LEDs or via high-resolution LCDs, both of which react quickly to the changes in level. But – as with watches and cars – the communication of sound levels through parallel, horizontal bars, usually glowing green in the safe zone and red in overload, lacks the impact of a needle against a scale.

THE GENESIS OF THE RESERVOIR SONOMASTER CHRONOGRAPH
AND ITS BI-RETROGRADE DISPLAY

For RESERVOIR, which has specialised in retrograde hands, the desire to imprint the company’s signature technique on the crowded dial of a chronograph presented a dilemma. How do you accommodate all of the sub-dials of a conventional chronograph without reverting to the usual cluster of round counters? How much space is left after allowing for bi-compax or tri-compax layouts?

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For the Sonomaster Chronograph, the designers had to incorporate – in addition to real-time hours, minutes and seconds – the central sweep seconds hand for the stopwatch function, a 30-minute counter at 12 o’clock, a 12-hour counter at 6 o’clock, and the date. A window for the latter would add clutter, while the desire for symmetry, which is missing in chronographs with sub-dials at 6, 9 and 12 o’clock and a date window at 3 o’clock, remained paramount.

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They started with a 43mm, 316L stainless steel case with brushed finish, crown inspired by amplifier control button, push buttons inspired by bass and treeble buttons. The hands are treated with Superluminova. The opened case-back reveals the automatic movement with column wheel, and a generous 60-hour power reserve. Up to this point, the defining element – a retrograde feature – was still to emerge.

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RESERVOIR has carefully cultivated a unique, family look for its retrograde models. All employ retrograde minute hands completing an arc from what would be, on a convention al dial, 8 o’clock to 4 o’clock. The visual balance is assured by the hour appearing in a window above the 6 o’clock position, while below it is a retrograde power reserve. Despite the need to deal with more functions, the Sonomaster Chronograph could not depart from the established RESERVOIR design language.

Two watch dials with retrograde hands

With the hours and minutes of the Sonomaster Chronograph addressed by conventional hands, and with the 30-minute and 12-hour counters using traditional sub-dials, it was noted that there was ample “real estate” on either side of the divide. Two half-moon-shaped areas were free to accept the date and real-time seconds, creating what RESERVOIR has called a “Bi-Retrograde” display. For maximum readability and to create a fresh aesthetic in a horological context, RESERVOIR looked beyond the confines of the watch and automotive industries, the latter a much-favoured source of inspiration in horological circles.

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Instead, they found the solution on the front panel of the iconic vintage hi-fi amplifier, such as the legendary Luxman M10 Mk II power amplifier, a much-coveted example of high-end audio equipment. This amplifier features two massive VU meters, with black needles against cream dials, accented with red segments to indicate the “danger zones”. Thinking laterally, RESERVOIR turned the dials on their sides, to be read vertically. The dial on the left provided retrograde seconds, its scale marked 0-30, with the needle – or hand in this case – flying back every half-minute. The dial on the right was chosen for the date display, its indications marked 0-31, with a retrograde fly-back return at the end of the month.

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Both counters feature red segments to respect their muse, though there is no danger present. The same background colour scheme employed by Luxman was retained as well for the Sonomaster Chronograph, the cream providing vivid contrast against the fine black scale. Both retrograde counters are sunken into the main dial, the added depth this creates further recalling the physical presence of VU meters set within an amplifier’s front panel.

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Rare are the occasions when two such disparate industries as watchmaking and audio equipment merge. Acknowledging this marriage, too, is the name of the watch, Sonomaster’s root referencing sound. And as RESERVOIR suspects, this watch is gonna make some noise.

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TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Collection   SONOMASTER 

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 Ref. RSV04.SN/136.BL (Black & Beige)  –  Ref. RSV04.SN/136.SI (Silver & Black)

CASE
– 43mm, 316L stainless steel case with brushed finish
– Black & beige, or silver & black Dials
– Hands with Superluminova
– Tachymeter bezel
– Crown inspired by amplifier control button,
Push buttons inspired by bass and treeble buttons,
Water-resistant 50m / 5ATM
– 360° Opened case-back
– Domed anti-reflective sapphire crystal
MOVEMENT
– Chronograph (central second, 30-minute counter
at 12, hour counter at 6), Bi-Retrograde date and seconds
at 120°, Hour, Minute
– Calibre RSV-Bi120: manufacture bi-retrograde
 chronograph movement, automatic mechanical
winding and column wheel (base LJP-L1C0)            
– 60 hours power reserve
– 28,800 alt./h
– Swiss Made
STRAP
– Black leather strap with white stitching, width 22 mm
– Stainless steel butterfly folding clasp

AVAILABILITY
– End of April 2022
– Available to order online and through a prestigious
network of more than 70+ high-end stores and specialist  etailers in 20+ countries.

PRICE – 5'750 €TTC, 5'750 CHF, 5'300 £ incl Taxes, 6'100 $ w/o taxes

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Press release -- 2022
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