New: Hautlence Vagabonde x Black Badger

Hautlence is getting some love and looks like awakening from sleep. We will cover in detail their novelty released just before the W&W, but here is the latest from them – the Vagabonde X Black Badger collaboration.

Press release information with commentary in italics.

New: Hautlence Vagabonde x Black Badger

The retail price for the new Hautlence Vagabonde x Black Badger is SGD 55,000 inclusive of GST.

Commentary

Our friend James Thompson, of Black Badger strikes again. Here he crafts his lume skills into the Hautlence Vagabonde, with the wandering hours and minute complication. The watch is not completely new. We will cover the regular version of this piece in detail in a later review.

But the novelty is the infusion of the glow of the 3D luminescent material used by Black Badger to add to the visual aesthetics of the watch. And the pattern chosen is somewhat the same maze structure which was previously used in the non-watch made by Hautlence called the Labyrinth Playground, but without the pinball, and with an actual watch movement.

Release information

Born of the meeting of two brands and two universes, both different but connected by a shared sense of aesthetics and an exceptional, slightly unorthodox mindset, the Vagabonde X Black Badger model marks the collaboration between HAUTLENCE and designer James Thompson a.k.a. Black Badger. Specialising in innovative materials which he uses in his own distinctive way, James Thompson is also known as the “Master of Glow”, a reference to Badgerite®, a 3D luminescent composite which he usually works with to bring a unique, artistic approach to everything he touches. The new Vagabonde X Black Badger focuses on the interplay of volumes and contrast, the tension between black and bright colours, and the interaction between the positive and negative space. A fine reinterpretation of the wandering hours model with four hands.

This project arose out of the meeting of two universes and two personalities. Appreciating HAUTLENCE’s aesthetic and the TV screen shape of its signature case, James Thompson immediately saw the full potential of the Vagabonde model: “When Samuel, HAUTLENCE Brand Manager, showed me this model, I was struck by the empty space around the time display system. Negative space isn’t wasted space when you think architecturally. Here, it is the negative space which gives this piece all its character. That was the perfect canvas for me to add my personal touch.” Drawing upon his expertise with luminescent material, James would literally “badgerise” the dial of the Vagabonde, appropriating its aesthetic by enriching it with 3D Badgerite® elements. This material – a Super-LumiNova®-filled ceramic composite – was created in HAUTLENCE’s signature orange colour. Using light as a tool in his work, James wanted to create a piece that would be as beautiful to look at in the daytime as it was at night-time. Like an explosion of light in different spectra, the minute indices are also in Badgerite®, while the hour numerals are enhanced with Super-LumiNova®. For James, “contrast is very much an element in the Vagabonde X Black Badger: the contrast of shapes, between the sharp corners and the rounded, almost organic ones; the tension between colour and light on the one hand, and black on the other; the contrast of using cutting-edge luminescent materials, but having the esthetic of something closer to an 1980’s arcade game. It is this delicate balance which creates a work of art.”

On the base dial, featuring a frosted finish, the sapphire minute dial adds another level to the look of this model. Inside a central disc, the hours rotate, turning on their own axis to mark the passing hours. Driving the rotation of the hour discs, featuring a matt black finish, the B30 bidirectional self-winding movement guarantees a minimum power reserve of three days. This calibre is based on a manufacture movement designed in collaboration with H. Moser & Cie., which HAUTLENCE developed in a modular way to create this stunning piece.

In steel, the TV screen-shaped case of the Vagabonde X Black Badger model has been redesigned, offering water resistance to 10 ATM. Retaining its balanced proportions, it is equipped with a bevelled sapphire crystal and a fluted crown with a rubber ring in the same blue as the integrated rubber strap.

Black Badger and HAUTLENCE are co-signing an exquisite work of art here: a watch with a big personality in which every detail says HAUTLENCE.

HAUTLENCE: a pioneer of modern, architectural horology and a catalyst for progressive independent watchmaking.

Hautlence VAGABONDE X Black Badger Specifications

Reference AB30-ST01

Calibre	B30 self-winding mechanical movement Wandering hours and minutes Power reserve: minimum of 72 hours Regulating organ: 21,600 vibrations/hour Number of components: 197Number of jewels: 34
Case	Case middle and horns: satin-finished and polished steel; Bezel: satin-finished and polished steel. Crown: polished steel and blue rubber ring; engraved HAUTLENCE logo Glass: extra-hard bevelled sapphire crystal with anti-reflective treatment; Back: sapphire crystal engraved with “HAUTLENCE”, Black Badger logo, “10 ATM WATER RESISTANT”, “Horlogerie Suisse”; Dimensions: 43.0 x 50.8 x 11.9 mm/10.9 mm excluding sapphire crystal
Dial	Base dial: Frosted Blackor; Dial set with orange 3D Badgerite® elements; Super-LumiNova-filled hour numerals; matt black hour discs. Intermediate dial: sapphire with white 3D Badgerite® minute numerals; Lumicast® rings. Blue rubber;
Strap	Folding clasp: steel.
Water resistance	10 ATM
Limited edition	28 pieces