Some time every week in my planner is set aside to wander through the world of watches, looking for brands that I haven’t heard about yet. It is fascinating to realize that while already spending two decades in this industry, I still find brands that were previously unknown to me. A few months ago, Hvilina caught my attention. They were founded in 2014 with its main office in Warsaw, Poland, and has built quite a reputation for making stylish watches that are also pleasing to the horological heart. Over the years, this has resulted in quite a trophy cabinet that includes, among others, multiple NY Product Design Awards, iF Design Awards, and German Design Awards.
Hvilina’s latest creation is the Nomro Hybrid, a collection of six watches that are all powered by Seiko Epson caliber PX85A. This is an interesting movement as it is a so-called hybrid or kinetic, meaning that the motion of an oscillating weight is converted into electricity, which is used to power the quartz movement. Such a movement combined the precision and dependability of a battery-powered quartz movement with the heart and soul of a mechanical one. Hvilina most certainly doesn’t hide such an interesting movement behind a closed caseback but shows it in all its glory behind a colored yet transparent insert in the caseback.
According to Hvilina, the inspiration for this collection came from the world of cyberpunk, which represents nighttime skyscrapers and artificial neon lights. This translates to some more expressive pieces, like the Synthwave, which combines rather bold colors, and the more traditional Post Industrial, which mixes silver and black on the dial. The Seiko Epson Hybrid movement features not only a date function but also a GMT. Hvilina took advantage of that by creating a subtle yet expressive GMT hand that gives an extra dash of color to the dial. The date wheel is also not the standard type but suits the theme Hvilina set for this collection.
The case with an integrated bracelet resonates with current trends. It is well constructed, and while it lacks the option for micro-adjustment, it does feature links that are small enough to make the bracelet fit comfortably. Hvilina gave each of the six models a name of its own, of which two have a pink gold IP coating, and limited them to 350 pieces per model. The Nombro Hybrid is priced at €399,-, but now open to pre-order at €299,- with delivery in December.
For more info, visit Hvilina, here.