Hysek is one of the last remaining fully-independent manufactures, and as such enjoys complete stylistic and technical freedom – as its new IO Double Orbitale demonstrates. It is indeed an authentic watchmaking ‘creation’, featuring a dual orbital display for both minutes and seconds.
For this new timepiece, powered by the HW63 manufacture caliber, the minutes display is not powered from the centre: instead, it rotates around the inner edge of the bezel in a module mounted on an external arc, linked to a gear arrangement concealed beneath the bezel. This puts the module in orbit around the outside of the dial, guided by the gear system.
Within the module itself, an openwork hand marks out the minutes by pointing towards two central arcs featuring graduations from 05 to 25 and from 35 to 55. Hysek connoisseurs will spot that the arcs are fixed to the dial at the 1, 5, 7, and 11 positions on the hour track – a nod to one of the firm’s signature touches.
Embedded seconds
The seconds module is embedded within the minutes module, which thus form a single unit. They rotate around the dial together: hence the “Double Orbitale” name of this IO. The seconds are shown by a hand located beneath the minutes hand. This sweeps over another semi-circular section featuring engraved markers. From a technical point of view, the seconds satellite is geared to the revolutions of the minutes satellite, multiplying them to indicate the seconds. The piece also features 24 jumping hours at twelve o’clock – another Hysek speciality. The window displaying them opens onto a surface coated with Super-LumiNova, making it easy to read the hours at any time of day or night.
One piece, four finishes
The dial will come in two versions that reveal the movement: one openwork, another made from sapphire crystal, bearing a laser engraving of a motif already used by the firm on its IO Manufacture – a stylised representation of a graphite molecule. The timepiece will be available in the second quarter of 2019, on offer with a 43-millimetre titanium or rose gold case, and fitted with the integrated HW63 manufacture caliber – boasting a 56-hour power reserve and a total of 265 components.
