Horologically Unique is moving quickly from restrained dress-watch inspiration to something more technically curious.
The Singapore-based independent brand’s second model, the HU-02, adapts the wandering jump-hour language associated with Robert Cart’s Chronoscope pocket watches into a 38mm wristwatch.
It’s a niche idea, but one with a clear historical spine, distinctive Art Deco character and pricing that keeps it within sight of modern enthusiast collectors.
At a glance
- Horologically Unique has introduced the HU-02, a wristwatch inspired by Robert Cart’s Chronoscope wandering jump-hour display.
- The watch uses a modified ETA 2824-2 with a wandering module, housed in a lugless 38mm case with Art Deco dial detailing.
- Two versions are planned, with prices listed at USD 3,850 for the Classic and USD 3,980 for the Silver Speciale.
Robert Cart’s Chronoscope idea returns in wristwatch form
The HU-02 looks back to Robert Cart, the watchmaker born in 1871 who founded Robert Cart S.A. in Le Locle around 1919 to 1920.
Cart became known for thin and complicated watches, including repeaters, chronographs, perpetual calendars and ultra-thin movements, produced under his own name and for other houses.
His signature Chronoscope display belonged squarely to the Art Deco period of the 1920s.
Rather than using a conventional central hour hand, the system places the hour in a small aperture while the display rotates, allowing the hour to travel across the minute scale before jumping to the next hour at the end of the arc.
Examples of Cart’s work using this concept were commissioned by names including Breguet, Gubelin and Vacheron Constantin.
The idea wasn’t confined to pocket watches, either, as Cart also created wristwatches for Breguet in the late 1920s, while Vacheron Constantin later used a related approach for its 1990s Heures Sautantes.
For the HU-02, Horologically Unique takes particular cues from a Robert Cart for Breguet pocket watch, especially its sharp geometry, slim visual language and arrow-shaped dial motif.
A lugless case built around the dial
The case keeps the dial as the main event, using a clean lugless form with the strap integrated through the caseback.
At 38mm in diameter, it sits in a contemporary sweet spot for a design that draws from pocket-watch proportions without becoming theatrical on the wrist.
Thickness is listed at 11.5mm including the domed sapphire crystal, or 10.1mm without it.
The stepped bezel and concealed crown reinforce the object-like quality of the watch, while the strap arrangement gives it a slightly desk-clock character when viewed off the wrist.
Horologically Unique is offering the HU-02 in two versions.
The Classic uses a polished naval brass case with a protective coating, paired with a cream-toned dial and sand-coloured leather strap.
The Silver Speciale uses a polished steel case, a grained silver-toned dial, a brushed minute track and a taupe leather strap.
Both versions lean heavily into Art Deco vocabulary, from the geometric hour window to the sharp minute typography and the large arrow-shaped guilloche motif that dominates the dial.
The wandering module sits on a familiar base
The HU-02 is powered by an ETA 2824-2 that has been significantly modified to accept the wandering jump-hour module.
That approach helps explain both the case thickness and the stated 32-hour power reserve.
It also gives the watch a practical mechanical foundation beneath a display that is far less common than a standard three-hand layout.
The result isn’t a simple vintage pastiche, because the whole watch depends on the way its historical display has been translated into a wearable modern format.
Details & Specifications
| Brand | Horologically Unique |
|---|---|
| Model | HU-02 |
| Case size | 38mm |
| Case material | Naval brass for Classic, polished steel for Silver Speciale |
| Thickness | 11.5mm including domed sapphire crystal, 10.1mm excluding crystal |
| Dial | Cream-toned dial for Classic, grained silver-toned dial with brushed minute track for Silver Speciale |
| Movement | Modified ETA 2824-2 with wandering module |
| Complication | Wandering jump-hour display |
| Power reserve | 32 hours |
| Strap | Sand-coloured leather for Classic, taupe leather for Silver Speciale |
| Price | USD 3,850 for Classic, USD 3,980 for Silver Speciale |
| Availability | Limited production run through the brand’s website, with allocation period details to be confirmed |
The HU-02 should appeal to collectors who enjoy historical display mechanisms but don’t want their watches to feel like museum studies.
By pairing a recognisable movement base with one of the more visually distinctive jumping-hour concepts of the Art Deco era, Horologically Unique has made its second act considerably more ambitious than its first.
