I love H. Moser & Cie. They have a huge sense of humor, and aren’t afraid to take on everything from the Apple Watch to mocking their fellow Swiss watchmaking brands for making vintage-inspired watches rather than and unusual watches. And now, they’re releasing two models, one at $59,900, and the other at a much more… hang on, I’m just searching my couch cushions over here… $19,900 USD. In typical H. Moser fashion, these watches give a nod to the conventional, while doing something smile-inducing.
These watches, called the Pioneer collection, look very much like traditional wristwatches. They’re round. They have lugs. About there is where they depart from your typical sub-$5000 watch. There are a lot of technical achievements here. One model is a straight 3-hand watch. The other has a tourbillon, Unlike normal tourbillon movements, the H. Moser and Cie tourbillon is a separate unit, modular, that can be removed from the movement and regulated separately. Instead of one hairspring on the balance, it’s got two, to improve accuracy.
H. Moser & Cie. think this is the perfect sort of watch to wear “at the beach or in the mountains, with friends or children, in front of a barbecue or on a bicycle.” Which is why they’ve given both models a rubber strap. This is what I love about H. Moser & Cie. They’re not afraid to do something unconventional and absurd. “Here’s your 60 thousand dollar tourbillon watch, with an inexpensive rubber strap. To be fair, it’s probably very comfortable, especially when riding a bicycle at a barbecue.
Both models of the H. Moser & Cie. Pioneer are 42.8mm in diameter, made of solid 5N red gold and black DLC titanium accents. The dials are midnight blue fumé, with a sunburst pattern visible through the sapphire crystal. Indices are applied, with a blue flange that carries lume dots at the periphery of the dial. The hands are partially skeletonized, and lumed as well. Both watches feature screw-down crowns, and are water resistant to 120 meters, just in case you want to go swimming with your tourbillon on its rubber strap.
The movements are the real star – besides the modular tourbillon, the 3 hand movement is HMC’s 200 movement. It’s a 27 jewel movement with 72 hours power reserve and finished with Moser’s stripes and a red gold rotor for automatic winding. The Pioneer Tourbillon is limited to just 50 pieces, and it and the Pioneer Centre Seconds are available from h-moser.com for $59,900 USD and $19,900 respectively.
