The 2015 Gaia Prize in the Esprit d’Entreprise

Has been won by Giulio Papi 

Courtesy of Audemars Piguet The 2015 Gaia Prize winners
(from left to right): Jonathan Betts, Anita Porchet and Giulio Papi

From Audemars Piguet -

Created by the Musée International de l’Horlogerie (International Horology Museum also known as MIH) in 1993, the Gaia prize honors people who have greatly contributed to the horology industry, its history and its culture.

There are 3 different categories:

ARTISANAT ET CREATION (CRAFTSMANSHIP AND CREATION) – 2015 winner: Anita Porchet

HISTOIRE ET RECHERCHES (HISTORY AND RESEARCH) – 2015 winner : Jonathan Betts

ESPRIT D’ENTREPRISE (ENTREPRENEURSHIP) – 2015 winner : Giulio Papi

Each year, the jury selected by the Museum curator gathers Swiss and foreign personalities such as experts from the Neuchatel University, the Haute Ecole Arc, the Centre Intercommunal de Formation des Montagnes Neuchâteloises, as well as journalists, scientists, etc…

This year, the Esprit d’Entreprise prize was attributed to Giulio Papi for the major role he played in the development of wristwatch complications since 1986.

Congratulations to Giulio for his talent and passion!

Stop the Press! A Sneak Peek at HYT's "H2"

Well, at least the back ; )


Courtesy of HYT

 Vincent Perriard was kind enough to send this over, and now I share it with all of you!  The H2 in collaboration with Audemars Piguet (APRP), led by Master Watchmaker Giulio Papi.

All will be revealed soon enough - BaselWorld beckons!

www.hytwatches.com

A Few More Minutes with Vincent Perriard

Courtesy of HYT

James Henderson - So here you are now with HYT, but the last time we spoke you were leading TechnoMarine.  Can you share a bit of what has been happening between now and then?

Vincent Perriard - Well, that seems like really a long time ago for me now…  almost 2.5 years.  A lot has happened since then !  At TechnoMarine we had a different view on how to position the brand.  It is quite unfortunate since under my assignment, we had opened 200 points of sales and increased our turnover by +34%…  



JH - Where did the idea for HYT come from?

VP - In 2008 - at Concord - we had this idea to mix things which are not supposed to be together. Liquid is the enemy of mechanics.  And because of that, we created the C1 Quantum Gravity where you would see the Power Reserve indicated by sort of glass (filled with a great liquid) moving up and down, according to the Power Reserve.  This watch was unique and Concord had a tremendous amount of success with its series of unconventional pieces (including the Best Watch of the Year at the Grand Prix of Geneva in 2008).

In 2011, I met (via a mutual friend) Lucien Vouillamoz who is the inventor of the HYT technology.  He explained to me that he can bring my initial dream to a higher level with a real liquid system indicator.  The liquid is actually moving around the watch to display time… I fell in love with the idea, with the people involved and finally we decided to launch HYT (which stands for HYdro Technologies).  The sky is the limit since this technology can be multiplied and we could imagine a watch with the hour indication as well as a date indicator, a Power Reserve indicator, a count down indicator ...

JH - How have things been going for HYT so far?

VP - The best answer to that is to Google "HYT watches" to see how we have hit the web and the watch community!

Our business model is quite powerful : we have pre sold watches 3 months before BaselWorld 2012 with key partners who believed in the project, in the watch and in the people. Therefore, we can say that all 2013 watches are pre sold (sold in and sold out). So to get a H1 from HYT is becoming a difficult thing! 

JH - What's in store for this year?  Any surprises up your sleeve for BaselWorld?

VP - We are delivering the H1 while I speak and we are soon introducing the H2 which is a joint creative effort with Audemars Piguet (led by Giulio Papi).  This special piece will be presented at BaselWorld 2013 in April.