Hands-on with the Hautlence Destination – LIVE PHOTOS & PRICING

29/03/2014 | By Brice Goulard | 3 min read |

The Hautlence Destination that we’ve presented last year represents a very big step for the brand as it brings several ‘firsts’: a dual-time zone and classical display of the hours and minutes. It’s also an important model as it’s positioned as an entry-level range but that should keep all the DNA of Guillaume Tetu (the founder and CEO) and the previous models, such as the Avant-Garde and the HL Ti 2 that we’ve fully reviewed. At Baselworld, we had our hands on all the versions and especially the titanium Destination 02 model. Thoughts about Hautlence’s last timepiece.

The goal of Hautlence with the Destination was clearly to move to a more affordable price range without losing all the typical codes of the previous models, such as the rectangular case, a very modern approach of time-display and that ‘indie’ feeling that we do enjoy here at Monochrome-Watches. For that, several compromises had to be made and especially an external sourced calibre. The Destination is equipped with a Soprod calibre 9351/A10-2. That movement has the advantage to have a nice layout and to offer useful complications, such as a dual-time zone indication, a big date (one aperture with a rotating disc for each digit) and a day/night indicator.

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The strength of Hautlence with that model, while using the Soprod calibre, is that you actually cannot really feel the ‘affordable’ origin of the movement, because the dial is reminding every aspects of the rest of the brand’s collection. The case, multi-layer dial, and crystal is totally in line with the Hautlence DNA.

The rectangular case is however slightly different from a HL Ti 2 as the edges offer bigger bevels and the top and bottom parts are a bit more curved. The case back is also different, as it doesn’t feature a complete see-through sapphire but a small aperture to show the rotor and balance-wheel working. Instead, you’ll find the time-zone indications engraved that will help to set your watch while travelling.

The main attraction is of course the dial and the indexes. The latter are actually giving the impression to float over the dial, as they are bonded on a second sapphire crystal that somehow serves as a dial. To resume, you have 4 layers: The main plate of the movement that you can see through the honeycomb centre part, the dial it self, a first crystal (that is fixed by 4 screws on each corner of the dial) on which the indexes are placed and over which the hands are running and the main – nicely shaped and angled – sapphire crystal. The contrast between the very light silver dial and the deep blue hands and numbers is really nice to look at and the colour combination (our favourite on the Destination) is working great. The whole layout is offering a great three-dimensional depth and good legibility.

On the wrist, as the case is made of titanium, the Destination 02 is a light and comfortable timepiece regarding at its size. Even on a small wrist, it sits perfectly and remains stable. It is obviously not a discrete watch that you can wear under you cuffs and that you can hide from people’s eyes. Once you assume that, it offers the possibility to enter the universe of ‘indies’ for a more reasonable price without losing the spirit of Hautlence, as it’s priced at CHF 20.000 – EUR 18.500 including taxes.

The Destination is also available in Red Gold and black DLC Titanium (Destination 01), in full black DLC Titanium with orange accents (Destination 03) and in Red Gold and Brown PVD Titanium (Destination 04).