At Watches and Wonders 2025, eccentric Swiss watch brand, Hautlence, released a timepiece that transforms into a robot.

The Retrovision ’85 is not officially associated with Hasbro’s Transformers toys — which change between robots and objects such as cars, planes, and music tapes — though the nod to these transforming toys, which first arrived in 1984, is obvious.

As a wristwatch, the Retrovision ’85 measures 64 mm x 60 mm x 11.8 mm, which is borderline unwearable. It fits your wrist in the same way most sculpture-like watches do: protruding over the edges.

As a table clock (robot standing on a platform), the dimensions are expanded to 70 mm x 96 mm x 43 mm, however, once it’s in your hand or on a table, the oversized dimensions matter far less than when worn on your wrist.

The watch case, bezel, and crown are made of titanium (with a frosted finish) using 3D printing with partial copper-colored PVD coating. The dial is protected by a beveled rectangular sapphire crystal and the caseback by a flat circular-shaped sapphire crystal.

Hautlence’s automatic Vagabonde Tourbillon movement powers the central minute disc-based display, which has the graduations printed directly on the glass in white, and the three-hour satellites (made in brass and coated with purple PVD) that rotate and display the hours in a wandering configuration.

The Hautlence caliber D31 features an automatic 39-jewel movement, equipped with a tourbillon and double hairspring, 217 components, that beats at 3Hz and offers a 72-hour maximum power reserve.

Limited to 8 pieces, the Retrovision ’85 (Ref. ED31-TI00) is water-resistant to 50 meters, and comes with a black rubber strap, with a toolless quick-release system to effortlessly transform between wristwatch and robot clock.  The estimated retail price is $100,000.

 

Photos by Hautlence.