o celebrate its 10th anniversary, the independent Swiss watchmaker HYT is unveiling a new, very exclusive luminescent edition of its Moon Runner model. Limited to 10 pieces and featuring new ultra-high performance luminescent materials, it is called White Neon and has a new ambition: to be as interesting and seductive in the light as in the dark.

Projecting its radiance through space and time, the new Moon Runner White Neon, explores a world at the frontier of the greatest forces, the brightest as well as the darkest, by proposing an unprecedented assembly of luminescent materials.

Light is the fastest entity known in our universe. The very exclusive Moon Runner White Neon watch takes lovers of contemporary fine watchmaking on an astonishing journey into ultra luminescence. It combines the latest generation of Super-LumiNova^®, developed by the leading Swiss laboratory RC Tritec, with a new hyper luminescent hybrid ceramic and a new luminescent material called Tec Light^®.

On the dial, the representation of the Moon, the numerals, the minute hand, or the inscriptions on the indicator discs benefit from Super-LumiNova^® as a whole, and not just as a surface treatment.

To this starting point, the Moon Runner White Neon adds several masterpieces offering a more intense bluish luminosity and with longer emissions over time, notably with the honeycomb grid or the part of the case middle entering the sandwich construction of the watch, between the two covers, carved in the mass of this new ultra luminescent material.

Connoisseurs will note the obvious difficulty of marrying three different technical materials with bluish light emissions for a homogeneous final result. To be just as bright during the day, HYT has opted for a specific white with a very spatial perception. A very innovative way of conceiving the role and place of luminescence in the definition of a watch, as well as in its aesthetic perception.

Inspired by the intricacies and secrets of black holes, neutron stars or pulsars, characterized by a narrow beam of intense light, Davide Cerrato, CEO and creative director of HYT, wanted this rare timepiece to be as inspiring by day as it is by night. “The brighter the light, the darker the darkness... It is impossible to properly appreciate the light without knowing the darkness,” remarked philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre.

Today, HYT goes even further by appropriating the power of the most fascinating light sources in the cosmos, with the aim of proposing a new global and aesthetic approach to luminescence, beyond the usual practicalities of being able to distinguish the hands or indexes in the dark.

“Can a watch be beautiful in the dark? This new Moon Runner White Neon was designed to meet a major challenge: to offer a watch that is as attractive and interesting in the dark as it is in the light. To achieve this, it has incorporated the power of hyper-light sources from outer space into its design,” says Davide Cerrato, CEO and creative director of HYT.

Fascinating celestial objects, black holes were predicted in Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity. Scientists and astrophysicists generally define a black hole as an area in space where light cannot escape because the force of gravity is unusually strong. Created during the collapse of a star, when its core collapses on itself, black holes concentrate all matter in an infinitesimal point called “singularity”. The new Moon Runner White Neon watch from HYT is not lacking in singularity.

In addition to its spectacular luminescent properties, the 48 mm Hydro Carbon and Tec Light^® case with a sapphire crystal dome and contrasting dial are immediately striking. One of the most remarkable elements of this dial is the black fluid contained in the capillary tube allowing the retrograde indication of the hours.

This function is driven by the 601-MO caliber, a mechanical hand-wound movement with a 72-hour power reserve, as are the minutes indicated by a central hand, and the date and month by a special disk system. The phases of the Moon are shown by the exclusive 3D representation of the Earth’s natural satellite specific to the HYT Moon Runner model.

“This central Moon, of very large size, is completely new. A gigantic moon that seems to levitate at the heart of the instruments, with a suspended bridge that allows a circular display on which the satellite minute hand runs,” says Davide Cerrato, CEO and creative director of HYT.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Case

• Hydro carbon & Tec Light^© case (64 parts)
• Crown in coated black titaniumDomed sapphire crystal (box) with anti-reflective coating
• Dial: Black side grids with white luminous background

Dial

• Black coated brass (58 parts)3D black coated appliques, white luminous numbers (Lumicast)
• Black grid with white backgroundFunctionsBlack liquid inside borosilicate capillary tube

Movement

• 601-MO (516 parts)
• Frequency: 28’800 Hz
• Jewels: 42
• Winding: Manual
• Power reserve: 72 hours
• Finishing: Finely sandblasted and satin
• Coating & Colour: Black coating

Functions

• Retrograde fluidique hours
• Central minutes hand
• Day of the month
• Month
• 3D Moon phase

Strap

• T-Light rubber strap

Hands

• Black mat minutes hands, white SLN
• Black mat day of month disk, white SLN
• Black mat months disk, white SLN

Dimensions

• Width: 48.00 mm
• Length: 52.30 mm
• Thickness: 21.80 mm
• Water-resistant: 50 metres

Buckle

• Buckle: simple
• Black coated titanium
• Satin & sandblasted finishies

Price

• CHF 130,000