MOON RUNNER DESERT

Strictly limited to only 15 pieces, the Moon Runner Desert by HYT is defined by technical innovation and meticulous craftsmanship. Featuring a black coated titanium and carbon fibre casing, the model showcases HYT’s proprietary meca-fluidic mechanism, together with a métiers d’art representation of that most emotive of all watchmaking complications, the Moon Phase. Resting on the wrist like a masterful three-dimensional sculpture, the Moon Runner Desert has a powerful presence, guaranteed to thrill the aesthetic senses.

Measuring 48mm across, 52.3mm end to end and with a height of 21.8mm, the case of the HYT Moon Runner Desert is manufactured in carbon fibre and black-coated titanium finished with a sandblasted technique. Exhibiting unexpected angles, sculpted sections and recesses, the complex casing is entirely in-keeping with the modernistic style ethos of this exciting independent watchmaking company, and it provides a befittingly modern housing for the arresting dial-side panorama. Finished with a black coated titanium crown at the 2 o’clock position, the case is topped with a generously domed sapphire crystal, and is sealed to withstand 30m of water resistance.

The three-dimensional moon phase indication dominates the centre of the dial. Introducing a hand-painted orb to the series, the artwork has been rendered upon a base of white paint with the nuances of the lunar surface meticulously recreated with beige pigments, giving it added resplendence. Incredibly detailed, each piece is demanding of one entire day’s work, and due to the hand-crafted characteristics, no two models will be exactly the same adding further to the exclusivity of this superb edition.

As the moon orbits within its position, a v-shaped indicator arcs over it, capturing the current position with an open-worked circular indicator. Around it, one can read off the date, via the indicator at the 6 o’clock position, with the day of the month and the months rendered in beige upon a pair of beautifully executed discs. Set deeper within the dial, a triangular indicator on a beige rotating disc serves to indicate the minutes, which are scripted in double digits, and with luminous material coated upon each indication, including the central three-dimensional moon, readability is enhanced in low light conditions and the effect of the illumination is astounding.

Placed at the perimeter, the arabic numerals for the hours are applied onto a backdrop of openworked matte black titanium thus adding a further technical aspect to the dial. Just within this textured section, HYT have placed their signature feature, their astonishing retrograde fluidic hour display, where the meeting point of two immiscible fluids; one beige, the other entirely invisible, creates a clearly defined leading edge which indicates the hour. Thanks to their individual properties the fluids will never merge, as they are forced through the tiny glass capillary tube by a pair of hydraulic bellows which are visible beneath the discs at the 6 o’clock position. On the underside, a sapphire caseback reveals the exemplary finishing of the proprietary manual wound Calibre 601-MO, which beats at 28’800 vib/h and has a power reserve of 72 hours.

A superb example of a contemporary timepiece, and one which blends artisan ship with technical supremacy, the HYT Moon Runner Desert watch is presented on a black rubber strap with beige micro-fibre embossed inlay, secured to the wrist with a black titanium clasp. The model will be a limited release of 15 pieces.