New: HYT Conical Tourbillon Infinity Sapphires

HYT pushes the envelope once again with a new 8 piece limited edition watch combining a conical tourbillon and animation. Presenting the HYT Conical Tourbillon Infinity Sapphires.

Press Release information with commentary in italics.

New: HYT Conical Tourbillon Infinity Sapphires

The HYT Conical Tourbillon Infinity Sapphires Ref. H03131-A will retail at CHF 390,000 before taxes. Limited Edition of 8 pieces.

Commentary

Eric Coudray strikes again! We have been fans of his work since his seminal piece in the Jaeger-LeCoultre Gyrotourbillon, and followed his career to Cabestan with the Winch Tourbillon, the Luna Nera, the Saturna and the Triple Axis Tourbillon, Purnell and more recently at HYT with the MoonRunner and Hastroid.

The watch has some resemblance to the Jacob & Co Astronomia which was designed by Luca Soprana. The two are subtly the same, but yet is a completely different conception. The HYT uses Eric’s genius with a conical tourbillon, inspired by the works of Walter Prendel to incline the tourbillon, improving on the flying tourbillon invented by Alfred Helwig. An example of which was presented by Prendel in 1927, and sold as Lot 604 at Antiquorum Geneva in 2002 for CHF 1.2M. Luca’s Astronomia is triple axis tourbillon mounted on a turning arm. Visually, the two watches are also not similar beyond the near semi-spherical sapphire glass protecting the display and the protruding movement elements from the dial.

The usual HYT specialised technical features are incorporated, with the fluid display of the minutes and in a case taken from the Hastroid series. We have not seen the watch in person yet, but the animation provided by HYT certainly is quite mesmerising.

We also note that thought there is a video of the assembly, all the photographs and product video we received look like computer renders.

Release details

The ultimate symbiosis between a conical tourbillon and a precious and sparkling animation.

Animated, sensual and intriguing, this limited edition with infinitely customizable sapphires reveals a spectacular spectrum of exceptional savoir-faire.

A symbol of the fascinating synergies between haute horlogerie taken to new heights with an innovative tourbillon, high jewelry given an unexpected setting with an open choice of divinely animated precious stones, and pioneering science applied to time with a fluidic module.

The new HYT Conical Tourbillon Infinity Sapphires watch is as visually mesmerizing as it is technically complex. Combining animations, sparkling gemstones and the complications of a groundbreaking, never-before-seen conical tourbillon with HYT’s exclusive fluidic mechanical technology, this new timepiece expresses the singular vision of watchmaking that the independent Swiss brand has been relentlessly pursuing since its inception 10 years ago.

HYT is constantly pushing the boundaries of contemporary haute horlogerie, both in terms of technical prowess and aesthetic sensibility. The HYT Conical Tourbillon Infinity Sapphires is the latest chapter of its manifesto. The most accomplished timekeeper to date from HYT, the HYT Conical Tourbillon Infinity Sapphires embodies all that makes the independent Swiss watch brand, founded in 2012, so distinctive and gives it its unique identity.

Spirited and sensual, thanks to the paired motion of the retrograde fluidic hour indication and the conical tourbillon’s revolution with its dynamic sapphire animations, the HYT Conical Tourbillon Infinity Sapphires carries within a new form of life, symbolized by its central mechanical heart. On the wrist, the lines and finishes of the HYT Conical Tourbillon Infinity Sapphires give it a singular allure. A discerning eye will notice the refined, haute horlogerie finishing of the 701 TC caliber, a hand-wound mechanical movement oscillating at a frequency of 21,600 vph (3Hz). 

What makes this caliber even more remarkable is the tourbillon that comes to life at the very heart of this horological ecosystem, with its spiral balance inclined at 30 degrees to the horizontal, its escapement wheel at 15 degrees and an anchor at 23 degrees. An audacious engineering prowess that builds on the work of German watchmaker Walter Prendel and his inclined balance tourbillon initially positioned at 6 o’clock. In his workshops in Groitzsch, in a region of Saxony as famous as Switzerland for the development of advanced horology, Walter Prendel wanted to demonstrate the relevance of his research – based on the theories of master watchmaker Alfred Helwig – on improving the stability and regularity of an oblique tourbillon with a balance-spring assembly inclined at 30° from the horizontal.

In the early 2020s, master watchmaker and Prix Gaïa winner Eric Coudray, who was familiar with Walter Prendel’s cutting-edge work, decided to pursue his efforts to improve the tourbillon efforts – and revisited Prendel’s inclined tourbillon. Maintaining the momentum of its own advances in contemporary haute horlogerie, HYT naturally gravitated towards such a tourbillon for its new watch.

The conical tourbillon makes a complete clockwise rotation in 30 seconds. Nestled around its periphery, three exceptional faceted sapphires, each 2.5 mm in diameter, magnify the life force emanating from this breathtaking visual spectacle – a perception itself amplified by the almost imperceptible, airy sound of the tourbillon. These distinctly colored gems – fuchsia, blue-gray and yellow – rotate at different speeds. The first, the fuchsia gem, completes 4 revolutions per minute. The second, the blue-gray one, rotates at 5 rpm, and the last, yellow, at 6 rpm. Each of these dazzling spheres is tracked by a counterweight, of a distinctive color and finely finished in miniature paint.

Elevating the tourbillon’s visual impact, six smaller sapphires, each 1.5 mm in diameter, set in the tourbillon’s brackets. The spectacular brilliance of this timepiece is further evinced in the finishes executed according to the purest traditions of haute horlogerie, from the titanium tourbillon cage to the chamfered, straight-grained, polished and satin-finished bridges and polished screw cores. The ‘chaotic’ animation of the three rotating spheres only underscores the conical tourbillon’s technical efficiency and smoothness in operation.

The assembly comprises 533 components: 159 for the tourbillon carriage alone. Add to these 39 parts for the dial and 66 for the case, and the entire HYT Conical Tourbillon Infinity Sapphires totals 750 components, all verified, assembled and re-checked by hand. The black fluidic hour module, the HYT hallmark, naturally finds its place in this exceptional tourbillon movement, entirely housed in a 48mm case in 5N rose gold and black DLC titanium, topped by a dome-shaped crystal with multiple layers of anti-reflective coating on both sides that makes this watch pop off the wrist.

The HYT Conical Tourbillon Infinity Sapphires is available in 8 models – the seven remaining Conical Tourbillon Infinity Sapphires offer infinite freedom in the choice of sapphires.

HYT Conical Tourbillon Infinity Sapphires Specifications