A Watch Brand Is (Quickly) Reborn

When it was announced in March 2021 that the independent watch company HYT had closed, few industry observers expressed much surprise. Many had thought the quirky brand, which used a highly unusual liquid-based system to show the time, might be the first left in ruins by the pandemic.

“I had always thought the brand might struggle beyond a certain point to find an ongoing place in the market,” Jack Forster, editor in chief of the watch website Hodinkee, wrote in an email.

Yet over the past year HYT has been reborn with new investment and under new management. A private investment company called Kairos Technology Switzerland bought the HYT name, along with its internet address, assets and stock for an undisclosed amount. And in July, Davide Cerrato, who had left his post as managing director of Montblanc’s watch division, was appointed HYT’s chief executive and creative director.

Then in January — a timeline that Mr. Cerrato described as “miraculous,” as most watches are years in development — HYT introduced Hastroid, a 27-piece limited-edition watch, each priced at $77,000. As with previous HYT designs, it showcased the brand’s unusual technology: The hours are indicated by the flow of a fluorescent liquid through a capillary tube, powered by a mechanical movement.

The appointment of Mr. Cerrato as HYT’s savior elect was no less unexpected than the brand’s rebirth. An industry veteran of more than 20 years, the 51-year-old Italian made his name in the 2010s with the Black Bay at Tudor and the Minerva watches at Montblanc, the kind of vintage-inspired designs that became his signature, along with his polished shoes and bow ties.

He would seem to be an unlikely choice for such an avant-garde company, but Mr. Cerrato said the industry is moving in a new direction and that he intended to lead it. “The vintage wave is ending,” he said in a video interview from HYT’s offices in the small Swiss watchmaking city of Neuchâtel. “The peak has gone and many people are starting to get bored. HYT is the perfect place to push the next wave.”

When HYT was founded by Lucien Vouillamoz and Patrick Berdoz in 2012, it made an instant splash. Convention has it that the only liquid that should ever enter a mechanical watch is the watchmaker’s lubricant. And yet here were watches housing a traditional mechanism alongside two reservoirs filled with liquid (one colored and one clear) that were pumped in opposite directions around a tube by two mechanical bellows. On the back of that esoteric technology, HYT became one of the leading names in high-end independent watchmaking.

Its watches were huge, too. Most were at least 48 millimeters in diameter and rose 20 millimeters off the wrist, and many were made even more unmistakable by a sapphire crystal that looked something like a garden cloche over the dial.

They also were flawed. Crystals were glued in place and prone to coming loose so that — ironically, considering the brand’s U.S.P., unique selling proposition — moisture could enter the watches and damage the works.

Mr. Cerrato said he decided that was his first concern: “The quality issues completely undermined the progression of the brand and its image.”

HYT had always relied on suppliers and collaborators, rather than in-house staff. Mr. Cerrato has continued that pattern, working with the Swiss companies Edge Design and Efteor on the development of the Hastroid’s titanium and carbon fiber case, which is screwed on rather than glued and easily can be customized. It still is 48 millimeters in diameter, but the new watch is 13 millimeters deep and weighs 80 grams (2.8 ounces), about the same as a large egg. Those dimensions make it significantly thinner and lighter than previous HYT models such as the H0 and H1.

For the mechanical movement, Mr. Cerrato returned to Purtec, HYT’s original movement supplier, and to the master watchmaker Eric Coudray. Mr. Cerrato said the base movement had been introduced shortly before the brand ceased operations, but that he had changed or upgraded 40 percent of its features (to carry a central minutes hand instead of a small hand at 12, for example) and components had been given a higher-end finish. The intellectual property rights to the critical fluidic module are owned by the Swiss company Preciflex, which continues to be a supplier.

In 2017, HYT had dropped its unit prices to around 50,000 euros ($56,630) in a bid to stimulate sales. But in Mr. Cerrato’s estimation, “it vandalized the image of the brand.” He said the brand would return to its original price level and later this year he planned to introduce two models with traditional complications at a higher price than Hastroid’s. (This would be in keeping with recent industry trends, which showed production volumes decreasing even as average export prices rose, according to the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry.)

Mr. Cerrato said he was confident his new watches — with their space-age design, “alien technology” marketing pitch and their scarcity — would draw high-end customers. He said he has funding for a five-year project, and that he had invested in the business himself. “It’s a good time to come back,” he said. “The customer is moving towards more rare, more unique pieces and we are the wildest kid on the block.”

HYT’s 2022 production was unlikely to top 200 pieces, according to Mr. Cerrato, who added he planned to work with around 20 retailers this year, in addition to online sales. Beyond that, he was reluctant to make projections. “We are not in a rush to push watches,” he said. “We are very curious to see how the business starts. The vision is to grow according to the demand.”

How quickly that rises may depend on factors largely beyond his control, such as the value of models produced before the brand filed for bankruptcy. Mr. Cerrato said the company wanted to stabilize the secondhand values of existing watches by taking back consigned pieces and “drying up the market.” He said he wasn’t sure how many watches the old business had produced, but that it was likely to be around 1,500.

One pre-owned retailer offered a positive note. WatchBox said that the average price of H0 and H1 models it sold had increased to $32,000 last year from $23,000 in 2020, although there were only one or two sales a month.

HYT’s resurrection has left industry observers questioning whether its return will be successful. “HYT was the first to reinvent the way time was shown in a very long time,” said Oliver Müller, founder of the Swiss luxury consultancy LuxeConsult. “But I don’t get why they would succeed at a higher price point when they failed at a lower one, however talented Mr. Cerrato is as creative director.”

Mr. Forster of Hodinkee said the brand has to break free of its past. “HYT will need to innovate, not just in its core technology but in other areas as well,” he said. “I don’t think iterating on the existing technology is a long-term path forward if that’s all HYT does.” Mr. Cerrato, however, said he had received “hundreds of messages from people saying, ‘We’re so happy you’re back.’”

But he acknowledged that HYT’s future wasn’t the only one on the line. “It’s a big challenge for me and very different from anything else I’ve done.” he said. “It’s absolutely crucial for me to show my knowledge and creativity and bring this brand to life again.”