Limited to 28 pieces, the Linear Series 1 marks a new milestone for Hautlence. We caught up with MELB Asia’s CEO, Bertrand Meylan, to know more about the brand’s resounding comeback and its corporate synergy with H. Moser & Cie.
Moser’s young and wild sibling, Hautlence is all set for a resounding comeback this year. Run by the Meylan’s family holding company, MELB, the two brands have always had very distinct personalities—while Moser is all about understated haute horology with contemporary vibes, Hautlence challenges the traditional norms in watchmaking with mind-boggling time displays and whacky case designs.
During the pandemic, as MELB focused all its energies on strengthening Moser (the brand registered a double digit growth in 2020, thanks to key launches like the Streamliner and Vantablack editions), Hautlence took a creative break to refresh its product strategy and brand direction. “In 2020, we decided to have everything under the same roof for both Hautlence and Moser. I think it was a great decision. We also put together a dedicated team, headed by Samuel Hoffmann, to define Hautlence’s new product strategy, marketing and merchandising. We worked on modernizing the look of our watches with new case designs and also new complications. I’m extremely delighted to announce the result of this synergy – the Linear Series 1,” says Bertrand Meylan, CEO of MELB Asia.
Hautlence 2.0 and the Linear Series 1
Presented on the brand’s trademark ‘TV screen shape”, the new Linear Series exemplifies Hautlence’s most defining characteristics in an ultra modern timepiece upgraded with better water-resistance and durability. “Our first watch, launched in 2004, featured a jump hour with retrograde minutes, mechanically driven in a novel way. The Linear Series 1 has been designed on the same lines. We want more and more people to recognize Hautlence for not just the complications but also the design language,” explained Meylan. “It was extremely difficult to improve the water-resistance on a rectangular case, but we have achieved that with the Linear (water-resistant up to 10 ATM). The idea is to make the watch more versatile; something that can be worn to the beach in the morning and to a restaurant in the evening. The watch features a dynamic case with a fluted bezel, relief form on the sides and integrated rubber strap,” he says.
On the movement front, the Linear Series 1 has been equipped with Caliber D50 made in collaboration with Agenhor. The self-winding movement oscillates at a frequency of 3 hertz and promises a power-reserve of 72 hours.
Over the years, Hautlence has established its reputation as one of the most daring watchmakers, who consistently play with high-tech materials and outrageous time displays. Right from the Vortex Gamma Tron, which used the patented HL LightColour or the HL2.3 Punk that used three sapphire crystals cut from solid blocks for its case construction, Hautlence has never shied away from experimentation. Thanks to the complex time displays, the dials of most Hautlence watches are three-dimensional and extremely powerful. For the Linear Series 1, the brand has worked with a multi-layer dial where the minute numerals sit on top of the base dial in rhodium-plated brass with a vertical satin finish. The dial has been given a small window to expose the minute cam, which helps the minute hand rotate once every hour and lifts the minute sector as the hour elapses.
The hours are displayed on a graduating scale on the left side of the dial. As seen in the brand’s very first caliber HL, the Linear Series also uses a slim linkage for the hour display. A small white arrow at the end of the linkage points the hour on the scale and once it crosses 12, the snail disengages the probe to release the energy. The linkage then jumps and returns to 1. Besides the retrograde jumping hour, the Linear Series 1 is equipped with a flying tourbillon at 6 o’clock. “We are working on very complex movements, which will take at least two years to develop, meanwhile, we will be focusing on the ‘TV screen’ cases that have always been a strong DNA of the brand. It’s important to surprise our clients with new ways of reading time, so we will continue to work with retrograde and three dimensional jumping hours, best exemplified by the HL Sphere 01,” says Meylan.
A New Synergy
Limited to 28 pieces, the Linear Series 1 marks a new milestone for Hautlence, which is nearly two-decades-old. The brand plans to limit its production to around 150 pieces a year and widen its appeal with in-house movements made in collaboration with Moser. “We have a dedicated creative team for Hautlence but for the rest of the resources we will be working closely with Moser – be it after-sales service, quality control or proprietary movements. We will limit the production to 150 for the next three to four years and have exclusive distribution in key markets like South Asia and the USA,” says Meylan.
There will also be a slight increase in prices for Hautlence watches, which were earlier available in the range of CHF 15,000 and CHF 150,000. “We really want to offer our best within our limited production. So, the watches will be a little bit higher — starting at around CHF 30,000 and going up to 100,000. That's the main bracket, but then we'll always have some very unique complications like the HL2, so those will be priced around CHF 200,000 to 230,000,” says Meylan. “In the past, we were working in a different direction, which was more focused on high complications, but now we are going to work as much on our design language. It’s going to be novel and exciting,” he says.
Specifications
Hautlence Linear Series 1
Reference Number: AD50-ST00
Movement: D50 self-winding mechanical movement; Linear retrograde jumping hour and 1 minute flying tourbillon; 239 components; 21,600 vibrations / hour
Power Reserve: 72 hours
Dial: Base dial— skeletonized rhodium-plated brass with vertical satin finish; Engraved minute track; Intermediate dial: sapphire with printed minute track in blue and white
Case: 43.0 ×50.8 ×11.9 mm / 10.9mm excluding sapphire crystal; extra-hard beveled sapphire crystal with anti-reflective treatment; satin-finished and polished steel case and bezel; sapphire crystal caseback
Water Resistance: Up to 10 ATM
Bracelet: Blue Rubber Strap
Limited to 28 Pieces
Price: HKD 514,000
