Luxury Insider

Let’s talk about digital watches. No, we’re not talking about a quartz watch. This is a mechanical watch that displays the hours, minutes, and seconds only by rotating discs arranged in a vertical, straight-line manner.

The idea is simple really: Instead of having hands attached at the end of a pinion, replace the hand with a disc that is printed with the numbers that the hand typically points to, make sure the disc is overly weighted lest it interferes with the power reserve and/or accuracy of the timing, and let clockwork take its course. The result is elegant, yet modern.

It is also quite interesting how people will stare at your watch and wonder what goes on inside the watch.

Hautlence is a marque born from the minds of Renaud de Retz and Guillaume Tetu. An anagaram of from Neuchâtel, where the company is based, Hautlencehas really given the industry something to sit up and stare at – a watch with a retrograde minute hand that is pulled back a mechanical crane arm and jumping hour disc – all visible dial side with spectacular motion works.

Incredibly high precision is require to machine the whole watch – starting from hard to see features like the “invisible” sapphire crystal layers that suspend the applied numerals and the jumping disc, to CNC cut anodized arms that relentless pull the discs back over and over again – it all comes together in a watch that is not just striking to look at, but also exciting to wear. Hats off to both Renaud and Guillaume

They, and all these other gentlemen, have made watches that really are extraordinary watches of our time.