Hautlence unveiled its very first limited edition chronograph which was developed and designed together with Guillaume Tetu, the CEO and co-founder of the brand and Éric Cantona. This exquisite model is proudly named Hautlence Invictus Morpos. Invictus comes from the Latin phrase which means “undefeated, unbeaten and unbeatable”, while the latter part of its name refers to Morpho, a blue butterfly that encrusts the sides of the dials.
Hautlence Invictus Morpos Watch Case
This September, Hautlence celebrates its 10th Anniversary. For this occasion the brand is launching the “Cross the Line World Tour”, a traveling exhibition featuring iconic timepieces made by Hautlence, as well as works of art from the collection of Eric Cantona who become the new brand’s ambassador this June at Baselword 2014 watch fair.
For those of you who have never heard of him, Eric Cantona is a former international footballer for the French national team and one of the greatest footballers of all time. He reinvented himself as an actor, surprisingly with some – I dare to say – notable success.
Hautlence Invictus Morpos Watch
Hautlence Invictus Morpos Watch is housed in a titanium case which measures 46mm x 42mm and it is 12.8mm thick. The case is constructed to resist water pressure up to 30 meters (circa 100 feet). This newcomer is produced in the limited series of only 250 pieces.
Underneath the front sapphire glass lies a gorgeous dial which bears the color and iridescent reflections of the large, blue butterfly, while mother-of-pearl insets subtly illuminated with black decals emulate the markings on its wings.
Hautlence Invictus Morpos Watch Dial
Its dial features an opaline black center that boasts a small seconds counter at the 12 o’clock position and the two chronograph sub-dials at 6 and 9 o’clock positions which are circled by a rhodium-colored ring. There is also a date register which is located at the 3 o’clock position. To enhance the depth of the multi-layered dial, the minute Arabic numerals and markers have once again been situated on a sapphire crystal held by four screws above the hours and minutes hands. Furthermore, all the hands are faceted and treated with a blue PVD coating, while those which show time are filled with white luminescent material for better legibility in low light conditions.
When you turn the case upside down, you will see that the case back is numbered and engraved with the name “Invictus”, together with Cantona’s signature and an engraving of his digital fingerprint.
The beating heart of the new Invictus Morpos is a self-winding mechanical movement that has the beating rate of 28,800 alternations per hour (4 Hz). The mechanism is capable to store enough energy to keep the watch ticking for at least 42 hours when fully wound.
