WORLDTEMPUS - 9 December 2011
Elizabeth Doerr
This watch has been publicly gestating for more than 18 months, though its official introduction only took place at Baselworld 2012. Glimpses of it seen on various blogs only served to pique interest, which exploded into resounding applause the day the finalized, working timepiece was introduced to a broader audience at this year's Baselworld.
And what this audience witnessed most certainly took its breath away. At 50 x 42 x 17.8 mm, the case of the HL 2.0 is large enough to allow an awe-inspiring view of the magnificent automatic movement seen through the large, faceted sapphire crystal constituting at least three-quarters of the case. Like watching a surreal film, one need only peer through the crystal to catch a glimpse of the action: the hours displayed on a moving chain and the escapement beating at a languid 18,000 vph, which is attached to the connecting rod and a rack, rotates 60 degrees at the top of every hour thanks to what the company calls a mobile bridge. Retrograde minutes complete the fascinating kinetics of this incredible timepiece.
This is a watch that warranted three international patents: one for the jumping hour chain (the hour takes 3-4 seconds to fully change over), one for the mobile bridge arrangement that rotates the escapement 60 degrees at the top of every hour, and one for the operation of the movement's two barrels. The principle barrel, wound by the automatic system, transmits the energy needed to wind the second barrel, which is entirely devoted to driving the jump hour complication. It is kept fully wound by the principle barrel to ensure that an optimal level of energy is available to change the hour.
Hautlence CEO Guillaume Tetu reports having already delivered three pieces to eager connoisseurs despite the difficulty of manufacturing the unique sapphire crystal. I predict that this timepiece is destined to become one of the major collecting marks left by this period of extreme horological creativity.
The only fly in the ointment is the fact that it is a limited edition of only 28 pieces in each case (white or rose gold) – meaning only 56 connoisseurs will have the chance to own this masterpiece of modern horology.
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