Baselworld 2019: Introducing the Hautlence HL Sphere

So, remember the HL Kinetic table clock that Hautlence showed off at SIHH 2019? Two cylinders, with spinning spheres each that showed the hour in one and the minutes in the other. Needless to say, this new approach to time display received the “cool-stamp” from countless people. Therein, the question that probably came to all our minds is, could Hautlence transfer this display mechanism into one of their wristwatches, and have it function mechanically? Cos mind you the HL Kinetic was battery powered.

Enter the HL Sphere, Hautlence’s Baselworld 2019 headliner. The new timepiece features a familiar retrograde minute display on the right of the dial and on the left you have a miniature sphere with engraved numerals that shows the hours in the same way that the HL Kinetic did.

Powered by the HTL501-1 hand-wound caliber, Hautlence’s eighth internally developed movement, the sphere works by means of four conical gears that translate time from the traditional gear train into this spinning magic show.

The blue PVD treated sphere is divided into two segments. These rotate 450 degrees on two spindles at 21-degree angles every hour to display the correct hour. Along with the retrograde minute display, the movement is no doubt a very power hungry one. Regardless Hautlence has stated that a fully wound HL Sphere holds 3 days’ worth of power reserve.

In order to accommodate the complex movement into the brand’s TV Screen case, the case had to be made larger. Of course, the most visible accommodation for the HTL501-1 has to be the dome incorporated into the upper sapphire crystal for the instantaneous spherical hour.

Given the freshness of idea showcased by Hautlence with the HL Sphere, it’s sure to create a great deal of buzz for the brand at Baselworld. Revolution for certain is looking forward to seeing the timepiece in the flesh to understand the mechanism thoroughly. Interested buyers who are looking to be a part of the buzz, be fairly warned, Hautlence will only produce 28 pieces of the launch edition of the HL Sphere.