Jordy Bellido
As part of its Moon Runner mission, HYT landed its ship in Saint-Tropez on the French Riviera to join the WorldTempus team. Thanks to this short pit stop before flying away to other galaxies, we were able to strap on the Moon Runner watch to test it out. With its blue moon housed in a 48mm case (the blue moon refers to the 13th moon that appears in a year, instead of the usual 12), the Moon Runner Supernova Blue is unique, which is reflected in its limited production of 27 pieces. True to its retrograde fluidic time display, the hours are indicated by two different liquids in a glass capillary tube. On this model, half the liquid is tinted with a special “Supernova” blue, while the other half is clear. A winning bet for the brand, this watch unequivocally challenges the traditional codes of watchmaking to create its own place in the world of horology.
Marie de Pimodan
At first glance, I have to admit I was a little perplexed by this timepiece. How was my female wrist going to accommodate a watch with such imposing dimensions? Measuring 48mm in width by 52.3mm in length, the Moon Runner sounds titanic! But in reality, I was pleasantly surprised by its extreme comfort on the wrist. Not only have the designers perfectly shaped its lines so that it follows the contours of the wrist, but they also chose a titanium case to drastically limit its weight. A very successful new case design gives the watch a futuristic spaceship look that is accompanied by real functionality. Under an imposing sapphire dome, the three-dimensional moon occupies a central position on the dial and attracts the eye like a magnet. The retrograde time is indicated on the periphery of the dial by a capillary tube whose liquid is tinted in “Supernova” blue by the brand. As for the day and month indications, they are legibly displayed on two titanium discs. This timepiece is a daily reminder that the future begins now.
Sophie Furley
I have a couple of watches with moon phases, but if I am honest, they are never correct, not because they don’t work, but because I never set them. When I put the Moon Runner Supernova Blue on my wrist, however, I realized that if I had this watch, I would probably spend all my time admiring the moon and completely ignore the time and calendar indications! This 3D representation of the moon is smack bang in the middle of the watch with a v-shaped arm with a circle at the end to indicate the current phase of the moon. Wearing it at dinner, the moon above Saint-Tropez was in its waning gibbous phase (Full disclosure: I only know this only because I Googled it!), but it matched the Moon Runner, which gave me a renewed interest in the moon as a complication. Maybe I should set my watches’ moon phases after all…or persuade the lovely people at HYT to let me keep this one!
Caitlyn Fish
With only one year of experience in the watch industry, I’m constantly blown away by new technical innovations, but HYT takes it a step further with their Moon Runner Supernova Blue. Where many timepieces are focused on tradition and keeping current the Moon Runner has rocketed into the future. The unique “Supernova” blue of the piece is absolutely stunning, while the fluid-filled capillary that tells time instantly transported me back to high school science classes. The dial may, at first, be a learning curve to read but once you familiarize yourself with the functions it’s incredibly readable and intuitive. I’ve always had a strong love for the night sky, which makes me favor moon phases, but this piece is sure to stand out among the rest.
Suzanne Wong
I know the ‘80s are super trendy right now with Gen Z kids, but as an actual ‘80s child, I feel like I have greater insight about this era than young Tik-Tokers in Duran Duran crop tops and pastel shoes. The thing you have to realise (or remember, if like me, you’re old enough to have experienced it) about the ‘80s is how high-contrast the world was. Never mind the faded VHS home video footage or muddy looking photos from that era — that’s just another example of technology’s inability to capture the real vibrance of life. Everything that could be lit up was lit up. Nobody thought of embedding LED lights in children’s shoes before the 1980s. Everything that could be made to glow in the dark was made to glow in the dark. I still have an abnormally strong passion for glowstick bracelets and neon signs for this reason. The HYT Moonrunner could be a cynical attempt to tap into this rich vein of nostalgia, but somehow I can’t bring myself to protest. This is not a review. This is not a fact-based analysis. This is me asking, “How does this watch make you feel?” Looking at the HYT Moonrunner makes me feel like I’m back in the 1980s. In other words, it makes me feel young.
