Paying tribute to the unbridled imagination of the 80s, HAUTLENCE is unveiling a fun new creation: the RETROVISION ’85, inspired by an iconic design from a well-known Japanese toy manufacturer. More than a simple timepiece, it is an ode to nostalgia, evoking the awe felt by an entire generation who, as children, dreamed of having this legendary transformable robot on their wrist. Equipped with the self-winding movement from the Vagabonde Tourbillon, the RETROVISION ’85 combines a retro-futuristic aesthetic with a watch display comprising a central minute disc around which the three-hour satellites rotate, reaffirming the bold and creative spirit that is HAUTLENCE’s signature. With this robot watch, released in a limited run of 8 pieces and unveiled at Watches & Wonders, the brand invites collectors to reconnect with the magic of their memories.
Sometimes, all it takes to reawaken the fondest memories is a simple object. For an entire generation of children growing up in the 1980s, this object was a watch unlike any other. Worn on the wrist, it told the time. But in the imagination, it was so much more: a miniature robot capable of transformation, the hero of endless adventures. This watch, invented by a Japanese toy manufacturer, quickly came to symbolise this era when anything seemed possible.
Today, HAUTLENCE is reviving this spirit by unveiling a creation that is as fun as it is daring: a robot watch inspired by the iconic design of the original, but with a mechanical movement equipped with a flying tourbillon. Named the RETROVISION ’85, this model sends the wearer back to the 80s.
This was the era of Saturday morning cartoons where robots battled it out to save the universe. The very early years of home gaming, where the graphics were pixellated but the imagination knew no bounds. Skateboarding was emerging as a global cultural phenomenon, with its own codes and references. An air of freedom permeated the whole era.
Capturing this spirit, the RETROVISION ’85 has been designed to resonate with all of these memories, to tempt all who have been able to carry this love of the extraordinary into their adult years. While the RETROVISION ’85 takes its inspiration from the past, the excellence which anchors it is wholly contemporary. At the heart of this creation beats the movement from the Vagabonde Tourbillon, a feat of watch engineering which encapsulates the brand’s spirit of innovation through a “wandering” time display system, where the discs turn on themselves in a hypnotic dance. A perfect metaphor: the apparent lightness belies a precise and refined complexity.
In launching the RETROVISION ‘85, HAUTLENCE is challenging received codes and celebrating the golden age of the imagination. In doing so, it is affirming that Haute Horology can – and should – be fun, yet without compromising on excellence, an ideology it shares with the models in the Playground collection. It is aimed at those who would spend hours as children dreaming of space exploration and robot protectors. But it also appeals to today’s collectors, who know that a watch is much more than a simple measuring instrument: it is a work of art, a memory, an emotion, a bridge between who we were and what we have become.
This creation is not only a feat of technology; it is a return to the foundations, a vibrant tribute to the boundless curiosity and creativity of the 1980s. With the RETROVISION ‘85, HAUTLENCE is once again proving that it is possible to reinvent watchmaking whilst retaining its magic.
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