“You can’t see me (at Watches & Wonders Geneva ’22)!”
You gotta’ love the folks at H. Moser & Cie. For all the seriousness that revolves around watches, these guys and gals have constantly stood out for being inventive and humorous at the same time. Not everyone who is funny has no substance and not everyone who is serious knows what they’re doing.
In any case, H. Moser & Cie has lived up to their reputation once again at the recent 2022 Watches & Wonders showcase in Geneva. First up, the brand has unveiled a concept timepiece in the form of the Streamliner Chronograph “Blacker Than Black” and a series production model dubbed the Pioneer Cylindrical Tourbillon Skeleton.
“So, why an all-black timepiece?”
The response to that should be “Why not?”. I mean, if watches are meant to be fun then creations like the Streamliner Chronograph “Blacker Than Black” should be celebrated. Perhaps the term ‘creation’ is pushing it a bit as this is just a concept watch. For now.
According to the company, this timepiece “is still too fragile to be worn on the wrist”. However, rest assured that they are already hard at work trying to strengthen the structure of Vantablack®. H. Moser & Cie says that its current “aim is to create a watch that can be worn and withstand the many and varied challenges of daily life.”
I’m not an expert in Vantablack® myself but some light reading reveals that it is currently the darkest man-made substance on the planet. Surrey Nanosystems, based in the UK, created the substance in 2014. It is composed of carbon nanostructures and absorbs 99.965% of light.
With this concept, H. Moser & Cie has applied it from the dial to the case and right down to the integrated bracelet. Going one step further, they’ve even displayed it in a stand with a screen coated with Vantablack® as well. And the results are well, near impossible to notice. Keep up the brilliant, eccentric work, H. Moser & Cie! The world is a better place because of it.
“And now, for watches we can actually see…”
Ladies and gents, presenting the H. Moser & Cie Pioneer Cylindrical Tourbillon Skeleton. Yes, it’s a mouthful but this is the company at its (other) best. Putting aside the sense of playfulness it has, the Pioneer Cylindrical Tourbillon Skeleton is further evidence that Moser is capable of pushing the technical aspects of watchmaking as well.
The highlight here is, of course, the one-minute flying tourbillon at 6 o’clock with a cylindrical hairspring. What’s the big deal about a cylindrical hairspring, you ask? Long story short, we get better isochronic performance since the hairspring is subjected to a near perfect center of gravity.
And that’s not all, folks! The sub-dial at 12 o’clock is a sight in its own right. It’s a relatively simple layout with your standard hour and minute hands plus markers. The brand’s trademark Funky Blue fumé shade is featured here but what’s most impressive is that the hour markers are fashioned out of a luminous ceramic-based material called Globolight®.
“What about the movement?”
It’s a skeletonized take on the brand’s in-house automatic HMC 811 movement. The 28-jeweled movement beats at 3 Hz and has a power reserve of at least 74 hours. The 18k gold rotor is also fully skeletonized. Other flourishes here include diamond bevelling and the main bridges and plate finished with an anthracite PVD treatment.
All of this gets cased inside a 42.8 mm steel case that stands at 15.3 mm, thanks to the domed sapphire crystal. Oh, and water resistant is a particularly hardy 120 m, by the way. A “hand-stitched” black alligator leather strap with a steel folding clasp is standard issue.
Last but most certainly not least, the price. Rejoice because it’s not a limited edition model but you’re gonna’ have to fork out $86,900 (RM367,830).
