Niche watch brand HYT in Switzerland has filed for bankruptcy – and yes, we missed this news earlier in the month. Interesting to note that even the wealthy are not persuaded by the liquid powered movement tech that was the USP for HYT.

Clever stuff is great, but many watch buyers are actually seeking two things when they spend 50K plus on a watch; one is validation from their peer group who rate them as powerful, wealthy types. Secondly, the watch is a long term investment which might appreciate in value over a decade or so. Sadly HYT didn’t really tick those boxes on either count.

HYT may continue in some limited form, for example a Kickstarter one-off project. But the high entry price and lack of old school gears n cogs might just act as stumbling blocks. That is a shame because ultimately watchmaking needs tech advances beyond George Daniels’ co-axial escapement, or a heart rate monitor in a smartwatch.