They are easy to spot with the naked eye on full moon nights, when the silver disk rises majestically in the dark sky. Lunar seas. That’s what early astronomers envisioned and became known for these vast expanses of liquid that cover nearly a third of the Moon’s visible surface. Science may have revealed basalt rock plains, but our imaginations know better.
13 of them can be observed from the Earth’s surface, the most famous being the Pacific Ocean, where the first astronauts landed in July 1969. A lesser-known fact is that there is an ocean in this figure: on the western edge. On the lunar side, the Ocean of Storms owes its name to the superstition that the last quarter of the moon is associated with severe weather. It is the largest „ocean” on Earth’s satellite.
HYT Moon Runner Desert © HYT
Today, Neuchâtel-based HYT is taking a stand in the lunar seas with two new models, called „Ghost” and „Desert”.
Housed at the heart of the carbon fiber and titanium case for the former, or crafted from black DLC-treated titanium, the moon phase appears in a new guise in the Moon Runner collection. The approach is unique: HYT revisits the classic issue through a contemporary lens, evolving it over time through its technical aesthetic and capturing the poetry of the orb in miniature hand-painting. Notice how the smooth little groove on the surface catches the eye and sparks interest.
HYT Moon Runner Ghost © HYT
The Moon Runner revolves around the moon, with two titanium indicator discs for the days and months, respectively. The minute hand is subtly integrated below these two discs so that only the triangular tip is visible. It glows with white Super-LumiNova® color, making the watch clearly visible. Both the month and day indicator discs are enhanced with Super-LumiNova®. Retrograde timepieces, powered by HYT’s hallmark mecha-fluidic mechanism, pass under a domed crystal glass with an anti-reflective coating.
HYT invites a master craftsman from MD’Art, an expert in the field, to create the delicate miniature painting. The idea is to give free rein to the artist’s hand, inspiration and talent. In a process that required a day’s work, he painted a half-sphere 11.90 mm in diameter in the dark, illuminated from every angle by ultraviolet lights. This way, every detail will faithfully reflect what the human eye would observe after nightfall, during a solar eclipse, or at twilight. These two lunar faces, in fact, exhibit two different patinas.
HYT Moon Runner Ghost © HYT
To ensure that these two lunar faces have the necessary luminosity, each groove has a base of white paint, which is then coated with Super-LumiNova®. Later, for Moon Runner Desert, the artist, still working in the dark under ultraviolet light, will use brown pigments to achieve the granular texture of the sandblasted effect that represents the myriad details of the lunar seas—a step of painstaking patience, skill, and demand. Accuracy. In Moon Runner Ghost, the aesthetic is sleek, minimal, reflecting a different face and perspective in the twilight.
The two special editions each feature notable contrasts that come in both material stripes: rubber and black Alcantara for the „Ghost” version; On the Desert Edition, sandblasted brown details emphasize the minimalist vibe of the watch.
Each model comes in a limited edition of 15 pieces.
„Oddany rozwiązywacz problemów. Przyjazny hipsterom praktykant bekonu. Miłośnik kawy. Nieuleczalny introwertyk. Student.