As it nears its tenth anniversary, Hautlence is on top form and proudly making that known: the latest positive and dynamic moves include a strengthened capital, reworked ranges, new collections and limited series.
The latter two aspects spell the brand future, based on core collections that are enriched and able to match the brand’s determination to be the “first accessible brand in the field of independent watchmaking” – complemented on a more or less annual basis by limited editions of certain top-flight models giving free rein to the creativity and technical mastery of the Manufacture. As CEO Guillaume Tetu explains, “We really want to have these two levels, with ‘Atelier’ models driven by Manufacture movements; and ‘Signature’ pieces stemming from cooperation with a partner, an approach that enables us to keep costs down and thus to offer affordable Hautlence watches”.
As far as its collections are concerned, Hautlence is introducing a brand-new line named ‘Destination’ this year. It represents a major evolution for the brand, that of incorporating an outsourced movement..
The ‘Destination’ collection comprises three models soberly named 01, 02 and 03. All are built on the same technical foundation, meaning a self-winding Soprod 9351/A10-2 movement driving the hours, minutes, large date, dual time zone display and day/night indicator. Housed within a characteristic Hautlence rectangular titanium case measuring 36 x 43.5 x 12.4 mm, this movement has a 42-hour power reserve. “The main modifications we made relate to the rotor and the day/night disc”, says Guillaume Tetu.
Hautlence offers three variations on this shared base: 01 features a black opaline dial with Clous de Paris hobnail motif and a gilded finish; 02 with its silver-toned opaline dial and intermediate sapphire dial is adorned with blue hands and moon-phase display; while 03 has the same black opaline dial base, graced with a honeycomb finish as well as orange hands and moon-phase display.
Hautlence thus offers three Destination models that will take their respective owners on a journey towards very different horizons: classical, sporty or contemporary. “This three-pronged approach is now an integral part of Hautlence”, Guillaume Tetu points out. “We already had three variations for our HLRS and HLRQ collections. These interpretations enable us to address different connoisseurs with different styles”.
HL2.4, scaling new horological heights with Hautlence
The HL2.4 is the masterpiece unveiled at Baselworld, as Hautlence shifts into a different mode to offer exceptional timepiece issued in 28-piece limited-edition models retailing at CHF 180,000 and revealing the full extent of the technical mastery cultivated by its CEO Guillaume Tetu and his team.
Stemming from directly from the brand’s flagship HL movement, the HL2.4 offers a new aesthetic variation based on a baguette movement 100% crafted within the Manufacture, “including the going train and the automatic winding system”, as the CEO is keen to specify.
A discerning observer will see at first glance that this is a technical model incorporating a number of top-flight horological complications. The baguette movement occupying the left-hand side of the dial is one in its own right, with its unique vertical position opposite the winding-stem. The hours indication is equally sophisticated, with the hours displayed by a chain system based on 12 links hinged around a pallet system. The speed regulator ensures that the hours display changes in 3 to 4 seconds rather than instantly. It completes 48 revolutions at each hour change. The retrograde minutes are displayed by a disc-based system.
Although this mechanism demands considerable energy, its twin barrels – a going-train barrel providing a reserve of energy for the complete movement and a barrel dedicated to the complications – nonetheless ensure a comfortable 45-hour power reserve, clearly displayed between 4 and 6 o’clock.
The HL2.4 is a technically and visually accomplished model featuring an architecture that is visible from three sides of its case, thus providing a chance to admire its impressive variety of shapes: circular discs and gear trains; square and linear hours; and a vertical movement. The result is exactly the kind of fascinating sculptural composition that has for almost 10 years been the aesthetic signature of the masterpieces from Hautlence.
