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HL 02 HL 02 HL 02 HL 02 HL 02 HL 02 HL 02 HL 02 HL 02 HL 02 HL 02 HL 02
lot 29

Hautlence

HL 02

Estimate CHF 5 000 / CHF 10 000
Starting bid CHF 5 000
Hammer price CHF 9 000
Total bids 14
All prices do not include 24% Premium

Specification

CaseRectangular rose gold case 750/1000 with sapphire caseback
StrapDark brown alligator strap, with original rose gold folding clasp
DialSkeleton dial, with applied arabic numerals, retrograde minutes indication, jumping hour disc, small seconds at 5 o'clock
MovementRhodium-plated hand wound movement, with Geneva stripes
Ref.HL02
Case No.40/88
D=43.5 mm

Condition report

Case:Very good, small signs of wear
Strap:Good, signs of wear
Dial:Mint Condition
Movement:Good, all functions working properly
Amplitude (Dial on top/Lift angle 52):330 degrees
Accuracy (Dial on top):-9 s/day
Box:Yes
Papers:Yes

Details 

A fine, highly unusual and impressive mechanical rose gold limited-edition wristwatch of the Hautlence brand, founded in 2004. Limited edition launched in 2005. 18k rose gold case, 43.5 x 37mm, 10.5mm thick, transparent sapphire dial, movement opened from the dial side, sapphire caseback. Hand-wound caliber HL, power reserve up to 40 hours. Functions – indication of time with jumping hours, retrograde minutes with connecting lever system, and small seconds hands. Black leather strap with Hautlence 18k rose gold triple folding clasp. Limited edition of 88 pieces. 

Lot essay 

The early 2000s were a special time in the industry, when the popularity of luxury mechanical wristwatches gave rise to many start-ups that were trying to find and stake their niche in the growing market. One of these start-ups was the Swiss brand Hautlence, established in 2004 by Renaud de Retz, a marketing specialist, and Guillaume Tetu, a designer, with the financial support of a group of investors. The brand’s name is an anagram of the city of its birth, Neuchâtel, Switzerland. The founders of the brand conceived an offbeat watch with an unusual time indication system and a driving mechanism open from the dial side. 

The jumping hour of the Hautlence HL caliber is characterised by the use of a jumping disc with an aperture in which the hour numeral, inscribed on a fixed dial, is visible. The lever system visible from the dial side connects a timing snail-cam with retrograde minutes hand and jumping-hour switching mechanism. The HL caliber, the basis of all the early references of the brand – HL01 in yellow gold, HL02 and 03 in rose gold, and HL04, 05, and 06 in white gold – was designed by the brand with the involvement of third-party mechanical components. The movement used the Eta/Peseux 7001 kinematics, from which it inherited a 40-hour power reserve and manual winding. In the finishing of the movement, the brand is guided by the standards of high watchmaking, and to match the unusual TV-screen shape of the case, the same shape is given to the movement, which is open for viewing from both sides of the case.

In the finishing of the movement, the brand is guided by the standards of high watchmaking, and to match the unusual TV-screen shape of the case, the same shape is given to the movement, which is open for viewing from both sides of the case.

As stated, the watches were produced in limited editions, most often in 88 pieces. However, if we bear in mind the brand’s declared sales volume of several hundred pieces per year, according to our estimates, highly likely not all of the limited edition pieces were made or sold. In 2012, Hautlence was sold to its new owner, MELB Holding of Georges-Henri Meylan, the former boss at Audemars Piguet. 

Reasons to bid 

The Hautlence HL02 Limited Edition would appear to be a fine purchase for the collector looking to obtain a highly unusual, sophisticated and rare limited-edition mechanical early-production watch from a Swiss watch brand that specializes in haute horlogerie collectible watches. The production of models from its early period has been discontinued, and early references rarely appear on the market. Therefore, Hautlence watches of this early period are now perceived as an attractive collectible, artifacts of the first decade of the 2000s – an extremely fruitful era in the development of watchmaking art and one which has presented many unusual, extraordinary examples. This undoubtedly includes the Hautlence watches, including the present lot. The combination of the extraordinary time indication design, rare case shape and haute horlogerie execution and finishing of the movement, undoubtedly adds to the appeal of this lot.