HYT H1 watch hands-on operation

During the press conference, Haoyitong was crowded. Many people went to hear Vincent Perriard discuss the inner workings of the H1, the new watch from his new brand HYT. The HYT is a high-end geek watch that just recently debuted after months of hype and is designed to combine traditional mechanical and liquid watches. The H1 is the brand’s first product, with more liquid-themed watches to come in the future. After the conference, I caught up with Perriard to get a hands-on experience with the new watch and get a demo from him.

If you know Perriard’s past work, you’ll be familiar with his passion and design decisions. Futurism and "doing things differently" are factors that help motivate him. He spoke very quickly in French when explaining the watch and shared the same level of insight and enthusiasm in English when showing off his toys. The H1 is a very cool and unnecessary watch - the exact formula that breeds success in the watch industry at this level. I first reported on the HYT H1 here when it was first revealed to the world.

In practice the H1 is pretty much what I expected - which is good. The bold futuristic design, although large on the wrist, is still very wearable. The case is 48.8mm wide and 17.8mm thick. With drop lugs, it will fit well on most wrists. You can’t help but notice the two bellows in the movement and the luminous green liquid ring that indicates the hours. The concept execution seems flawless, especially when you adjust the timing back and forth and the green slime quickly moves across the scale. It basically uses pressure, but as far as I know nothing like this has been done with a crown - maybe not on such a small scale.

The piece we're checking out is titanium and finished in black DLC. Available in uncoated titanium, as well as in full 18K rose gold and 18K rose gold mixed with black. These four models will launch the brand and apparently sell its first few batches to retailers who will sell HYT watches around the world.

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As I mentioned, Periard likes to make high-end toys. The H1 feels exactly like that. It's like something a smart kid would dream about. This is also something a grown kid would be happy to wear. It takes a lot of technical expertise to fully understand what a movement does, but almost anyone can enjoy the actual concept. I think Perriard understands this concept best - if you want a successful new watch brand to sell a high-priced product, it has to be something that wows the average person.

The dial features retrograde liquid hour and minute dials, both of which are easy to read. The hand-wound movement features a secondary seconds dial and a useful power reserve indicator. Flipping to the back of the watch, Perriard explained that he wanted the movement to be finished and decorated in a relatively classic manner—not wanting to potentially alienate core consumer watch enthusiasts. The cheeky accordion bellows on the dial are something you’ve never seen on a dial before. Such an iconic element will surely become the brand's signature.

The H1 does provide a better opportunity for wealthy people to own and enjoy extremely exotic watches. Myself and others really like the style and balance and technical innovation the H1 offers. Perriard promises more and more complications in the future, so I expect the H1 to be their entry-level model for the next few years. Normally a brand like this would start with an ultra-high flagship model, but getting the technology right is probably the most important thing to do when starting out with HYT. I really like what they're doing, and CEO Perriard's passion for the product definitely sweetens the deal.
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