A spectacular wristwatch which combines HYT’s unmistakable and futuristic signature of a fluid time display, suspended like a glass monorail above a fileted three dimensional dial which features a captivating vortex, and which is illuminated in a pulsing wave of LED light which washes across the display at the push of a button, the new HYT Flow Infinity is contemporary Haute Horlogerie as only HYT can do.

In the eight years since making its debut in 2012, HYT has become firmly established in the independent watch sector as one of its more extravagant, avant garde family members, thanks to its colourful, high tech, convention-defying creations which bring together two unlikely elements; those of delicate mechanical components and a reservoir of liquids, which in any book of watchmaking are, without exception, anathema to each other.

Via an ingenious patented solution of hydro-mechanical micro engineering, medical grade components and at CHF12m per litre, one of the world’s most expensive liquids, HYT have not only been successful in making it work, but have also used it to create some of the most astonishing watches of the past decade.

Even so, the new Flow Infinity takes that brand of horological alchemy to another level, with its extraordinary architecture in sculpted stainless steel and sapphire crystal, and fileted openwork dial which is dominated by a towering vortex in its centre.

In a modern day interpretation of the classic regulateur configuration, the hours, minutes, seconds and power reserve are all displayed individually, with the minute dial centremost featuring a single hand with luminous coating, and flanked either side by the power reserve near the four o’clock position, while the seconds are shown via an orange disc which rotates beneath the dial, and visible through the cutaway sections.

The vortex is a glass portal which plunges into the heart of the movement, and is surrounded by an LED ring which lights up on command, simultaneously casting light on the hydraulic bellows within which expand and contract as they force the black immiscible fluids which indicate the hour around the display in its glass capillary.

The power to create the light comes from a tiny mechanically charged generator which is wound and activated by the lower of the two crowns, positioned at the four o’clock. Harnessing enough energy for eight seconds of illumination it is independent from the main barrel and does not affect the overall power reserve of 65 hours.

The case is imposing at 51mm across and just over 20mm tall, and is comprised of a sculpted stainless steel body and a huge dome of hardened sapphire glass, which is specially manufactured for HYT. A lugless design means that the strap ends disappear into the case, giving it a seamless continuity and making the large watch fit comfortably on the wrist.

On the underside, a glass back reveals the hand wound Calibre 501 movement, which is the product of a collaborative project with innovations specialist TEC Ebauches. More precise, more refined, and in how HYT utilises traditional mechanical watchmaking to create the drama of its signature fluid display, the new calibre is an evolution on previous collections. Fully wound, the single barrel has a 65 hour power reserve, and the balance pulsates at 28’800 vib/h.

Presented on a perforated red rubber strap the HYT Flow is not a piece for the shy or retiring type and has enormous presence on the wrist. Complex, sophisticated and a little bit mad, it is nonetheless a remarkable piece of contemporary watchmaking innovation and a piece which truly shines a light on HYT’s hydro-mechanical concept of the fluidic time display.