You’ll have seen HYT around even if you’ve not tried one on yourself. It’s easy to say that a watch is like nothing else out there, but theirs genuinely are. Who else uses water pressure to tell the time? Sure, it’s the latest in a long line of insane ways of displaying hours and minutes, but that doesn’t stop it being a marvel.
Off the bat though, the HYT Skull Axl Rose differs from the usual array of circular HYTs. For one, there is no minute display. Oh, the horror! How will you know what time it is to the second? Well, never fear (seriously, there are bigger things to worry about) but there have been plenty of one-handed watches before and, putting aside the fact that there is no hand, that’s more or less what this is.
The black liquid being pumped around the central skull is accurate enough that you can read roughly which quarter of the hour you’re in – enough to know if you’re early or late essentially. That’s all you really need, even without going into the whole concept of ‘watches are no longer for telling the time.’
Rather than a circle around the edge, as is usual in HYT’s other pieces, the liquid tube outlines the skull (inside whose jaw you can see the bellows pumping almost imperceptibly). That means at 6 o’clock you get it outlined in bold. The bellows at the centre don’t actively compensate for the skull’s jawline not being a smooth curve, but you wouldn’t notice any difference. Unlike when you wear it.
You see, while the Skull might be a good deal wider than other HYT models, it’s a good deal lighter. Incredibly so. A good part of that is thanks to the DLC titanium of course, but almost as much is thanks to the crystal. With the liquid ring set further into the watch, the Skull doesn’t have HYT’s signature crystal rising sharply all around the diameter. Less glass means less weight – and also that it fits under a sleeve slightly better.
‘Better’ still means you need sleeves like a flamboyant Renaissance for it to get under there. Still, despite the 51mm diameter it fits. If you’ve read any of my complaints about big watches before, you’ll know how odd that is. It looks big of course, but thanks to its height that’s at least in proportion. The key is the bund strap, one of those that puts a piece of leather between wrist and watch. The added curve of material secures it even to my skinny arms quite comfortably.
Axl and I might not see eye to eye on everything – Chinese democracy for instance – but he has one hell of an eye for watches. The HYT Skull is a world away from what I would normally wear… but who doesn’t need a good vacation now and then? I already miss this thing on my wrist.
Price & Specs:
- Model name: HYT Skull Axl Rose Watch (ref. 151-DL-47-NF-BV)
- Dial/Case: Unstructured Clous de Paris dial with damascus steel skull
- Movement: Exclusive manual wind HYT calibre
Power reserve: 65-hour - Price: £75,000
More at: www.hytwatches.com
