HYT H1 – the first timepiece ever to combine mechanical and liquid engineering.

What are we getting excited to see at the 2012 Baselworld Watch Fair in Switzerland?  Topping our growing list is the HYT H1 Hydro-Mechanical watch from Vincent Perriard & co. (former CEO of Concord – and his obvious product predecessor, the C1). Prices are rumored to begin at $45,000 (for Titanium casing) which is considerably more attainable than other concept watches of this ilk.

Pistons in the movement move the bellows.  As one expands the other one compresses which moves the green Fluorescein liquid.  Fluorescein even has applications in forensics to detect latent blood stains but this is likely a first and only use in horology!

Technical specs from HYT:

• Movement: Mechanical hand-wound, exclusive HYT calibre, 28,800 vph, 4 Hz, 35 jewels, bridges hand-chamfered and adorned with Côtes de Genève, rhodiumed bellows, 65-hour power reserve

• Functions: Retrograde fluid hours, minutes, seconds

• Case: Titanium; diameter: 48.8 mm, thickness: 17.9 mm brushed, bead-blasted and satin-brushed finish, rubber-clad screw-lock crown, titanium crown guard, screw-locked added lugs, metal dome at 06:00

• Crystal: Cambered sapphire crystal with glareproofed interior, screw-down sapphire back

• Dial: Unstructured, silver-toned opaline, fluid hours, luminescent hands and hour-markers regulator at 12:00, small seconds wheel at 09:30, power-reserve indicator at 02:30

• Strap: Hand-sewn leather-lined canvas, pin buckle

• Other versions: Black DLC-coated titanium case, 5N 18K red gold case

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