There will be all manner of watchmaking stories at the Watches and Wonders trade show this week — from heritage and throwback narratives to female-led ones — but HYT is hoping to add a comeback chapter.
Known for its disruptive timekeeping technology that mixes liquid and mechanics, HYT — for Hydro Mechanical Horologists — burst onto the scene in 2012. Orders of more than 21 million Swiss francs, or $23.3 million, were quickly placed, but then came years of quality issues before a short-lived revival, followed by a bankruptcy in 2021.
A second rebirth was equally brief, scuppered by a newly appointed chief executive who left after only 13 months. HYT’s current executive chairman, Vincent Perriard, who was its chief executive from 2011 to 2016, is now back running the show — and trying to calm the waters.
“To be fully transparent, this company has been difficult from Day 1,” Mr. Perriard said at HYT’s headquarters in the Swiss watchmaking town of Neuchâtel. “But there is a famous saying: ‘There is no innovation and creativity without failure.’ That’s really true. And that’s really us — including a bankruptcy.”
Mr. Perriard is spearheading what HYT is calling “a new chapter,” which kicks off with the introduction of its T1 collection (the T stands for tradition), at the Watches and Wonders fair in Geneva.
Followers of HYT will immediately notice the 45 millimeter size and streamlined octagonal case. The profile is considerably smaller than HYT’s signature 50 millimeter size, which was originally necessary to accommodate the liquid-based technology, Mr. Perriard explained. But it also has been the brand’s biggest bugbear.
“The product was not being accepted in the markets — it was too big,” he recalled. “One of the mindsets that we should have been implementing from Day 1 when we restarted HYT in 2021 was to reduce the size. We kept hearing the same story. So we decided it was time to stop everything and rethink the brand inside out.”
Another notable change is the dial. HYT traditionally placed its distinct hydromechanical technology front and center on the dial, which showcases the two hallmark bellows that pump fluid through tubes. This has now been moved to the caseback, in a kind of “if you know you know” move that Mr. Perriard said channeled the trend for quiet luxury and which he hoped would attract a new audience.
“It becomes very much an intimate piece — it’s a different story,” he said.
Other features of the T1 watches include interchangeable rubber straps that easily click into place and a starting price of $48,000, closer to the price of a HYT watch when the brand first began. That is a significant reduction from HYT’s current entry price of $77,000 (the tourbillon model is the most expensive, at $439,000).
The T1 collection has four models: three titanium designs with a silver-, slate- or salmon-colored dial, and a titanium and 18-karat-gold version with a blue dial.
The collection marks the beginning of what Mr. Perriard called “a three-year journey of reconstruction” that will see a sport model added later this year, followed by a chronograph model in 2026.
Other complications are expected to be added, and by 2027, new models will “completely revamp” the hydromechanical technology, Mr. Perriard said.
His focus is on innovation — but, more pressingly, on rebuilding trust. That’s why HYT is also inviting about two dozen of its best customers to send their existing HYT models back to the company for a full service and refurbishment free of charge.
HYT sells exclusively through its 24 retailers worldwide — down from around 50 at its height — who will decide which clients are eligible for the services.
Sincere Watch Limited, based in Singapore, has stocked HYT since the brand’s beginnings and currently sells HYT in Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Taipei.
Chief Executive Ong Ban summed up his view of the T1 collection, saying, “I’m sure there’ll be people who love it, and people who hate it. But that’s how it goes.”
Still, he said he believed that HYT’s liquid-based technology gave the brand an edge. “After 12 years I’m still quite amazed that no one else has copied the idea,” he said. “As far as I’m concerned, they still have a leadership position and a first mover advantage. Until the copycat comes along, they’re still the one.”
HYT’s ability to still service its watches and address quality issues, he added, “is a critical sales argument for us.”
Mr. Ong described HYT clients as “connoisseur collectors of high-end watches,” for whom an HYT will never be a first watch. This niche group of clients is now the focus, Mr. Perriard said, comprising a small band of around 150 seasoned watch geeks who don’t seek fancy, glamorous events but something very intimate.
“These guys coming to our events have three Richard Milles, 10 Audemars Piguets. They perfectly know when we speak about La Chaux-de-Fonds and Le Locle. They’ve visited the places,” said Mr. Perriard, referring to key Swiss watchmaking centers. “We share the same world — even though they live in Singapore and Hong Kong.”
With production limited to 200 to 250 watches a year, HYT hopes to ride a surge of interest in independent brands, like F.P. Journe and H. Moser & Cie, both of which have performed exceptionally well in recent years.
In its latest report on the Swiss watchmaking industry, Morgan Stanley and LuxeConsult called 2023 “the year of independent brands,” which have experienced “tremendous growth” as collectors sought more ultraniche items.
HYT’s new, pared-back look may serve it well, too. The increasing trend “for ultra-niche watchmakers is reflective of the overall trend toward quiet luxury, with fewer logos and thereby more intrinsic value,” the report said.
Mr. Perriard is the face of the brand today, but he insisted he would never return to a chief executive role. “If I were 35 years old, I’d take the job. But I’m 54 and have other things to do.” (In addition to working with multiple brands, Mr. Perriard is the co-founder of the blockchain-based watch authentication company Origyn.) “I’m just a transition guy,” he said.
That transition is already underway. Vahe Vartzbed, appointed HYT’s general director in August, is set to become chief executive imminently. He joined HYT from the Swiss independent watchmaker Greubel Forsey, where he oversaw the brand’s operations in Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
HYT’s experience with fixing problems — from early quality issues to regaining the confidence of retailers — has him “extremely excited” and “confident about the future,” he said.
But for now, Mr. Perriard was not counting his chickens before they are hatched. “We hope that we’re going to be successful. But we’ll see,” he said. “But that’s what is interesting: It’s a journey.”