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Hautlence HL 2.0 - That's the Power of Love!

2K views 2 replies 3 participants last post by  heuerolexomega 
#1 ·
"Oh my god. They found me, I don't know how but they found me. Run for it Marty!"
"Who, WHO?"
"Who do you think? The Libyans!!"

So begins one of the greatest adventures of 1985, a trip that would change the very fabric of space time and turn a questionable automotive endeavor into an iconic piece of Science Fiction history! I am of course referring to the classic film Back to the Future starring Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd. Premiering the year I was born, I had to wait till many years later to enjoy the wonder and spectacle that was the Flux Capacitor. Traveling through time would be awesome, but a couple of the things that I enjoyed most about that movie were the clock tower (obviously) but more importantly the Rube Goldberg machine in the opening sequence!

It opens with dozens of mechanical and electromechanical clocks in the small room inhabited by Doctor Brown. As the camera pans, we see a timer attached to a coffee pot, an alarm clock moving a lever to flip a switch to turn on the TV (which is conveniently talking about a Plutonium robbery that may or may not have everything to do with Doc Brown and his DeLorean ), another timer attached to a toaster burning the crap out of a couple pieces of Wonder Bread, and finishing with a clock attached to a contraption that automatically feeds the dog, Einstein. It is complete with a can delivery ramp, robotic arm, electric can opener, and can disposal bin, otherwise known as a trash can. In case that description isn't enough to jog your memory, check out this clip.



Random history nerd side-note: Rube Goldberg was an American cartoonist, sculptor, engineer, and inventor who devised complex chain reaction machines to do simple tasks such as the Self Operating Napkin. He became so well known for his machines that we now call all of these types of machines Rube Goldberg machines.

Now why on earth, besides the clocks and obvious time references, would the Rube Goldberg setup have anything to do with horology and my love of clever mechanisms? Oh yeah, all those reasons! I have always loved Rube Goldberg machines and when I first saw the watch I want to talk about today I immediately thought of one of those machines. Actually I didn't immediately think of one, but as I watched it do its thing, the same feeling that I get when I watch a Rube Goldberg machine crept over me and I got the same case of the giggles. You know, those giggles where you feel like you are five years old again and watching the cuckoo pop out of the little door and chirp makes you stare and wonder how it's done and giggle when it pops out again as if by magic? Those machines and those experiences have made me who I am today and the Hautlence HL2.0 brought me right back in a heartbeat.

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If you are an independent watch enthusiast like me, you will be well aware of who Hautlence is. If not, they are a small independent brand based in La Chaux-de-Fonds founded in 2004 and currently run by Guillaume Tetu and Georges-Henri Meylan. Also, they are freaking amazing! (They are one of my favorite brands so I might be biased, but hey, it's still true) They also happen to have a flair for another of my passions, wordplay. Their name, Hautlence, is actually an anagram of the heart of Swiss watchmaking, Neuchâtel. I love a company can play with words just as much as they can play with mechanics!

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But back to the HL2.0 and their completely in-house calibre that creates an amazing time display on your wrist! So the main aspect of the HL2.0 is a rotating assembly containing the balance wheel and escapement that spins 60° every hour and is synchronized with a 12 link hour chain. This entire mechanism is activated every hour when the retrograde minutes hand returns to zero. The 12 link chain displays the hours in a small window (though still visible in detail elsewhere) and moves one position each hour (duh). The balance and escapement assembly are powered by their own mainspring as is the time display mechanism. The rotation of the "Mobile Bridge Movement", as Hautlence calls it, and the chain link hour indicator is powered by a separate mainspring to ensure consistent chronometry to the time telling component of the watch. The balance assembly meshes which a conical gear to change the direction of the gear train by 90 degrees.

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The hour change is regulated as well by a spinning governor that keeps the movement protected from shock. Instead of snapping to the next position like a standard jump hour mechanism, it works in a more controlled manner creating a dance of components instead of an explosion of movement. The "jump" of the movement feels more like that of an Opus XI or François Quentin's 4N Watch. Definitely something to enjoy for a few moments every hour!

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The retrograde minutes hand works using the HL1.0 linkage assembly theme which was already an awesome jump forward for a retrograde hand. The mechanism can be seen more clearly at the 0:45 second mark of the second Hautlence video. What is awesome is that this movement also counteracts the effects of gravity whether you are wearing the watch or not, making this a much more viable chronometry solution along the lines of a triple axis tourbillon or the inclined balance like those seen in a Greubel Forsey timepiece. While it is not a tourbillon, and it is not pretending to be, I find it to be a very cool departure from that thinking in a way that keeps the spectacle alive for the wearer! Rotating 60° every hour means that the bridge movement makes one full rotation every 6 hours or four times every day.

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Another incredible feature of this watch is the massively open sapphire crystal that makes the view of the movement breathtaking! Guillaume Tetu states that the scrap rate (amount that need to be thrown away vs. the number that are finished and usable) is about 6:1 when machining these crystals. That is a 17% success rate! Basically machining sapphire is incredibly difficult, and it goes almost geologically slow. For comparison, the round sapphire sections of the MB&F HM4 case take about 185 hours to machine and polish, making the time spent for these crystals not a small effort.

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Oh, and why is the scrap rate so high? Because sapphire is incredibly hard, that means it is also technically brittle and can shatter. All it takes is the right vibration in the right place and BOOM, it explodes and is useless. When machining sapphire with diamond tooling, a resonance can be created which vibrates the tool against the sapphire and it will simply shatter, usually rendering the entire piece unusable, ruining the expensive tooling, and wasting (quite possibly) days of continuous machining. Ouch! So for every one of these watches you buy, you are also paying for 6 shattered sapphire crystals, the machine time, AND the man hours that went into those ruined pieces. Making stuff is expensive, dude.

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The idea behind this watch, if you haven't noticed or realized by now, is to awe the wearer with marvelous mechanical movement that you can witness at all times. That is why the case is so open and expansive, so as to showcase the machine inside. With the multitude of components and the incredible depth to the piece, every time you look at it you will discover something new. It took me multiple viewings before I could take my eyes off of the movement bridge and hour chain and to my delight I discovered a cleverly displayed power reserve, wonderfully skeletonized plates, and many other small details that go into making this watch glorious to observe and explore.

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Rube Goldberg machines helped fuel my fire for clever mechanisms and overly complex systems, so it only comes to reason that eventually I would find watchmaking to be my passion. Boy am I glad I did, otherwise I might have never heard of Hautlence and witnessed the "awesomazingatude" that is the HL 2.0! If you want to see more or know more than you learned from this article and the videos, I definitely recommend checking out Hautlence and seeing their other creations!

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The funniest part of Rube Goldberg machines is when they break, so let's get to the break…down!

  • Wowza Factor - 9.6 When I first saw the HL 2.0, I had to stifle a gasp at how amazing the movement looked! To me, when I see a watch and the movement astounds me, there is no going back from that point and I know I will be losing sleep over it which brings me to…
  • Late Night Lust Appeal - 200g[SUB]n[/SUB] » 1,961.330 m/s[SUP]2[/SUP] The HL 2.0 made me fall down a rabbit hole of lust, a rabbit hole about 200 feet deep with water at the bottom and given my speed of about 60 mph upon impact, it hurt! Hurt something good!
  • M.G.R. - 72 Oh yesssss it is a pretty dang high score and would you have expected anything different? Simply scroll back up and view that video again. 'Nuff said.
  • Added-Functionitis - Severe Power reserve indicator - Check. Incredibly complex jump hour and rotating bridge mechanism - Double Check! I think this again calls for doctor prescribed 'Gotta-HAVE-That' cream for that dangerous complication induced swelling!
  • Clams Per Pound - $400,000 This is permanently on my grail list, so of course I would be happy to pay double! (In the world where I'm uber wealthy and could actually afford said awesomazingatude)
  • Ouch Outline - 12.21 - Sitting on a Cactus Now most people may never experience this but if you were on a hike out in the middle of Arizona and needed to use the little boys room, you might be in a hurry and not notice exactly where you are taking relief! Either way it would be worth it with this horological wonder staring up at you.
  • Mermaid Moment - 60° an Hour Seeing that balance bridge rotate 60° at the top of the hour would make any mechanics lover forget about shore leave and jump in for a swim!

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Seriously though, check them out, and on your lunch break watch some videos of Rube Goldberg machines, like This One, or This One, and get a case of the giggles at these overly complex chain reactions!

As always I hold no rights to any of the images and they can be found freely on the interwebs.

Have a great week and DFTBA!

Cheers & Happy Watching,

Joshua
 
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