This Watch Uses Pistons, Bellows And Liquid

I’m not crazy into watches, usually. I wear a Casio digital watch, which is a fair sign I rate function over form on my wrist. But this time piece, powered by pistons, bellows and liquid, made me stop and take notice.

This is the HYT H1, and it uses a liquid-filled chamber to display the hours using a luminescent green fluid. In fact, that green stuff is fluorescein, which has applications in forensics to detect latent blood stains. But hey, you can use it to tell the time, too.

So how does the watch actually work? Two bellows are powered by the watch movement, and push and pull the liquid around the face to tell the time. The minutes are displayed in the centre of the face with a dedicated dial. Keeping with the fluid theme, the second hand is modelled on a water turbine, but personally I think that may have been a step too far.

This is, perhaps unsurprisingly, a first in watch design, and HYT claims that there are seven pending patents for this watch alone. That adds in part to the exclusivity, I’m sure. As does the price, which is an eye-watering $US45,000. I think I’ll stick with the Casio. [HYT via Boing Boing]