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Only Watch 2021 Favorites: H. Moser & Cie.

This year more than fifty watchmakers have created timepieces for the Only Watch charity auction, which commences Saturday, November 6, in Geneva. Christie’s will auction these incredible watches to raise funds that benefit research in the battle against Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

While you may have seen a few of the watches set for auction earlier this year when Only Watch announced them, we thought you’d enjoy seeing many of these inspired designed again just ahead of the event.

The watches will tour the globe starting September 22 in Monaco, and can then be seen in exhibitions in Dubai (September 30 to October 3), Tokyo (October 8 to 10), Singapore (October 15 to 20), Hong Kong (October 25 to 27), Macau (October 28) and finally back in Geneva on November 4-6. Click here for details about the Only Watch world tour.

Today, we highlight the offering from H. Moser & Cie., which has placed its much-acclaimed Cylindrical Tourbillon made in partnership with MB&F last year into the exceptional 40mm H. Moser Streamliner steel case.

To review, the caliber here is designed as sculptural work of art and is topped with a domed sapphire crystal. It features a one-minute flying tourbillon equipped with H. Moser’s cylindrical hairspring, produced by Precision Engineering AG, H. Moser & Cie.’s sister company.

And with the case and bracelet, with its articulated links and brushed and polished finishing, also weighing in as functional eye-candy, we expect this watch to exceed its auction estimate.

Only Watch Auction Estimate: CHF 60,000 – CHF 80,000.

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Watch Of The Day

H. Moser Blues its Award-Winning Streamliner Flyback Chronograph

Fresh from winning the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) award as the year’s Best Chronograph for its Streamliner Flyback Chronograph, H. Moser & Cie. this week underscores the collection’s distinctive H. Moser design by offering a new edition of the watch with a Funky Blue fumé dial, a signature color for the brand.

The H. Moser Streamliner Flyback Chronograph Automatic Funky Blue.

Moser has applied the Funky Blue dial, with its sunburst pattern and eye-catching gradient color effect, throughout its collection, complementing similar fumé style dials with brown, red and even green hues. The color appears light in the center of the dial and becomes darker and deeper towards the outer edges.

This newest edition H. Moser Streamliner Flyback chronograph retains the technical ingenuity of debut that re-shapes how a flyback chronograph tracks elapsed time. Instead of developing a flyback function for a central seconds hands, H. Moser devised a wholly original method of tracking elapsed time with two chronograph hands, one for the minutes and one for the seconds. The minimalistic dial also shows current time with two display hands, one for the hours and one for the minutes.

The movement wizards at Agenhor developed the column-wheel chronograph with support from the technical teams at H. Moser & Cie. Also notable is the placement of the tungsten oscillating weight, which lies between the movement and the dial, allowing a clear view of the beautifully designed and finished caliber through the caseback.

The watch’s handsome steel cushion case measures 42.3mm in diameter, features an off-center crown and is topped with a slightly domed glass box-type sapphire crystal. Its new integrated steel bracelet features fluid lines based on organic forms. H. Moser named the Streamliner to recall the curved shapes that dominated the first high-speed trains of the 1920s. Price: $43,900.

SPECIFICATIONS: H. Moser Streamliner Flyback Chronograph Automatic Funky Blue, (Reference 6902-1201)

Movement: Automatic Caliber HMC 902 developed with AGENHOR for H. Moser & Cie., frequency of 21,600 vibrations/hour, bi-directional winding, tungsten oscillating weight, positioned between the movement and the dial, double barrel, column wheel chronograph, two-stage chronograph mechanism, horizontal clutch with friction wheel; smooth wheel equipped with micro-teeth, tulip yoke allows the chronograph to be triggered or released. Power reserve: minimum 54 hours

Case: 42.3mm by 12.1mm steel topped by a domed sapphire crystal, chronograph push-buttons at 10 and 2 o’clock, screw-in crown at 4 o’clock adorned with an engraved M, see-through case-back.

Dynamic water resistance to 120 meters, allowing the chronograph and flyback function to be used underwater.

Dial: Funky Blue fumé, hour and minute hands with Globolight inserts, minute track for the elapsed seconds and minutes, tachymeter on the flange, Hours and minutes displays, chronograph with central display and indication of the elapsed minutes and seconds, flyback on the minutes and seconds.

Bracelet: Integrated steel, folding clasp with three steel blades, engraved with the Moser logo.

H. Moser was awarded two prizes at the 2020 GPHG: One for the Streamliner Flyback Automatic Chronograph (Best Chronograph) and another for its Endeavour Cylindrical Tourbillon H.Moser X MB&F model (Audacity Prize).
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The Watches

H. Moser Stuns with ‘Matrix Green’ Streamliner

H. Moser’s new Streamliner Centre Seconds, the second model from the independent Swiss brand’s integrated steel Streamliner collection, focuses on timekeeping basics by displaying simple hours, minutes and seconds. But echoing so many H. Moser debuts, the real eye-catcher is the stunning fumé dial, here in “Matrix Green.”

The H. Moser Streamliner Centre Seconds

The dial appears to glow, framed within its brushed steel 40mm case that links ever so smoothly to the matching steel  bracelet – with no sign of a lug.  

To reach that integrated ergonomic end zone, H. Moser extends a carefully curved bracelet atop the wrist directly into the case. Not only does it feels smooth on the wrist with articulated, gently waving links, the bracelet looks resplendent with its vertically brushed and polished finishing.

H.Moser explains that its rounded curves required the Streamliner’s designers to hollow out the case middle, satin-finish the sides and then alternately brush and polish surfaces throughout.

Any watch named Streamliner needs to have a domed sapphire crystal, which H. Moser wisely uses to top the Centre Seconds. Under that subtly curved dome you’ll find unusual hands (including a curved minute hand) formed with inserts made from Globolight, a ceramic-based material that features SuperLuminova.

Inside this H. Moser Streamliner Centre Seconds model is the watchmaker’s own automatic HMC 200 caliber. The movement is equipped with a regulating organ manufactured by H. Moser & Cie.’s sister company, Precision Engineering AG. Nicely decorated by H. Moser with its brand-developed double stripe décor, the caliber also stands out from other with a gold oscillating weight. Price: $21,900.

Specifications: H. Moser Streamliner Centre Seconds, Reference 6200-1200

Movement: HMC 200 self-winding caliber, frequency of 21,600 Vph, automatic bi-directional pawl winding system, 18-karat gold oscillating weight engraved with the H. Moser hallmark, power reserve of 3 days, original Straumann Hairspring, finish with Moser stripes.

Case: 40mm by 9.9mm steel topped by a gently domed sapphire crystal, see-through case back, screw-in crown adorned with an “M”, water-resistant to 120 meters.

Dial: Matrix Green fumé with sunburst pattern, applique indices, hour and minute hands with Globolight inserts.

Bracelet: Integrated steel bracelet, folding clasp with three steel blades, engraved with the Moser logo.

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Watch Of The Day

MB&F and H. Moser Combine Creativity

For many years Precision Engineering AG, a sister company of H. Moser & Cie., has been making balance springs for MB&F. These two high-profile independent watchmakers today expand their ties well beyond sharing component-makers by each launching a watch with functions and designs originally found on watches from both companies.

Thus, on the new Endeavour Cylindrical Tourbillon H. Moser × MB&F the wearer sees a cylindrical tourbillon and tilted dial that immediately recalls the MB&F LM Thunderdome or its Flying-T.

Likewise, on the new LM101 MB&F × H. Moser we see the highly recognizable MB&F suspended balance flying above a trademark H. Moser fumé dial with minimalized H. Moser hands indicating both time and power reserve.

Both companies have jointly created these two new watches and will make them available in several versions with each issued in a fifteen-piece limited series. Fifteen signifies the 15th anniversary of MB&F and the fifteenth anniversary of H. Moser & Cie.’s re-launch.

Endeavour Cylindrical Tourbillon H. Moser × MB&F

For this 42mm model, H. Moser & Cie. takes the MB&F concept of three-dimensional movements to another technical level with a one-minute flying tourbillon (with the aforementioned cylindrical balance) popping out of an aperture at 12 o’clock.

Down at 6 o’clock we see a 40-degree tilted dial, lifted directly from MB&F’s LM Thunderdome or Flying –T.  Rather than the white lacquer dial used by MB&F, here we find clear sapphire marked only by the H. Moser name, two hands and the twelve hour markers.

H. Moser CEO Edouard Meylan explains that his company has “Moserized the MB&F universe by developing a sapphire subdial, which melts into the background so as to highlight the beauty of our fumé dials.”

H. Moser will make the watch available in five different versions cased in steel and with a selection of favorite H. Moser fumé dials: Funky Blue, Cosmic Green, Burgundy, Off-White or Ice Blue.

LM101 MB&F × H. Moser

For its part in the cooperative venture, MB&F has outfitted its Legacy Machine 101 with distinctive H. Moser elements.

MB&F has retained the watch’s suspended flying balance, but has removed its own logo as well as the LM101’s white domed subdials, replacing them with an H. Moser fumé dial and three H. Moser hands showing hours, minutes power reserve.

MB&F chose four fumé dials to illustrate the watch’s cooperative nature: Red, Cosmic Green, Aqua Blue and Funky Blue. MB&F also retained the 40mm by 16mm steel case and domed sapphire crystal.

MB&F has also redesigned the LM101’s large suspended balance wheel by adding a Straumann double balance spring produced by Precision Engineering AG, the component maker that shares ownership with H. Moser. MB&F says the new spring actually improves the movement’s precision and isochronism while also reducing friction.

And there’s more ‘Mosering’ visible on this new LM101 MB&F × H. Moser. Rather than using a Kari Voutilainen finish, MB&F has supplied a contemporary NAC treatment to the movement, which is visible from the clear sapphire caseback.

Moser CEO Edouard Meylan and MB&F founder Maximilian Büsser compare their new creations to a “duet recital in the form of an exceptional concerto for devotees of fine watchmaking.”

Clearly, the two independent watchmakers are making beautiful music together. 

The two models are available in several versions, each issued in a fifteen-piece limited series. Prices: $79,000  (Endeavour Cylindrical Tourbillon H. Moser × MB&F) and $52,000 (LM101 MB&F × H. Moser).

 

 

 

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Watch Of The Day

H. Moser Darkens Dials and Hands

Known for drawing attention to unorthodox designs, whether on April Fools Day or any other day, H. Moser & Cie. tones down the flash this year with three new watches that are more understated than provocative. And unlike the one-off  ‘launches’ of previous years (remember the Swiss Cheese watch?) these new models are both immediately available and will be made in ongoing production.

The new H. Moser Venturer XL Vantablack Black Hands.

            This week H. Moser launches three watches that each feature a dial made from Vantablack, the ‘blackest black’ ever produced by artificial means. And while H. Moser has offered five additional Vantablack-dial watches since the Endeavour Perpetual Moon Concept model introduced the idea in late 2018, this new trio takes the all-black concept to the next level with their minute and hour hands also blackened, though not with Vantablack.

The H. Moser Venturer Vantablack Black Hands.

            The new watches are the Venturer Vantablack Black Hands, available in a choice of two diameters (a 39mm white gold case and a 43mm steel case for the XL version) and the 42mm (blackened steel case) Endeavour Tourbillon Vantablack Black Hands. The tourbillon model, a limited edition of fifty, utilizes H. Moser’s own technically excellent double-hairspring 
one-minute flying tourbillon at 6 o’clock and skeletonized bridges coated in black PVD.

The H. Moser Endeavour Tourbillon DLC Vantablack Black Hands.
Back view of the H. Moser Endeavour Tourbillon Steel DLC Vantablack, showing H. Moser’s own technically excellent double-hairspring 
one-minute flying tourbillon and skeletonized bridges coated in black PVD.

No Joke

            The notion of black hands on a Vantablack dial at H. Moser initially drew attention as an April Fools lark last year. Drawing many positive responses, H. Moser decided to produce the stealthy watches. Launched to elicit an emotional response, according to H. Moser, these new watches might also elicit second or third glances since their minute hands and hour hands are matte-black colored, just barely visible atop their black-hole-like dial.

The H. Moser Endeavour Tourbillon DLC Vantablack Black Hands, with a black case and black skeletonized bridges.

       Did I mention that you won’t see any indices on any of these dials? Or a logo.

       If you’re not familiar with H. Moser’s earlier uses of Vantablack, here’s a primer on the ultra-black material. Vantablack is composed of carbon nanotubes that are 10,000 times finer than a human hair, aligned vertically alongside each other. When a photon hits Vantablack, the material absorbs 99.965% of the light. As our eyes need reflected light to perceive what we are looking at, Vantablack is perceived as the absence of matter, much like a black hole.

Moser CEO Edouard Meylan notes that the Vantablack material was developed by a British company for aerospace use and is now found in telescopes and on certain military equipment. The material can be fragile when placed onto a dial, which is why his watchmakers protect it by using specialized production procedures and by topping each Vantablack dial immediately with a sapphire crystal.

    All three watches are now available via an online sales platform set up by H. Moser & Cie, as well as from H. Moser’s retailers. Prices are $26,600 for the 43mm XL style in stainless steel, $27,600 for the 39mm white gold version and $69,000 for the DLC-blackened stainless steel tourbillon model.  

 

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