Discrete, elegant styling is an agreeable trait evinced by many of the timepieces in the H. Moser & Cie. catalogue. The Swiss brand has recently produced ‘concept’ watches, including the Endeavour Perpetual Calendar Concept Funky Blue launched earlier this year. This new timepiece eschews indices, some functions and branding to deliver a minimalist aesthetic.
We should start with Moser in the present day, because for a long time people didn’t seem to think that Moser was the kind of watch for the person who is all about the now. I used to think that too; I first encountered H Moser & Cie in my twenties, and I made superficial decisions about things, as people in their twenties typically do.
Last week at SIHH, independent watch brand H. Moser & Cie. debuted a unique dual-cover wristwatch inspired by a late 19th-century pocketwatch from its archives. The timepiece marks the brand’s 10th anniversary.
The Perpetual Calendar Heritage Limited Edition case is a pocketwatch-type case crafted in 5N rose gold, measuring 46 mm x 13.6 mm. It is diamond-set (28 diamonds, 0.31 carat) and enamelled. Uniquely, there are pocketwatch-style “cloisonné” enamel and guilloché covers, front and back. The wire lugs offer a nod to the past without interfering with the case’s aesthetic. (The vintage pocketwatch that inspired it did not, of course, have lugs.)
Now this is the type of timepiece I expect from Switzerland-based H. Moser & Cie., and not futile attempts to play with (or play against) the smartwatch market. For the celebration of the brand’s 10-year anniversary, H. Moser & Cie produced this Perpetual Calendar Heritage Limited Edition that has been inspired by a pocket watch from the late 19th Century. H. Moser & Cie. connects what is probably its most admirable model with a very beautiful nod to the past.
Perpetual Calendar watches are usually quite complicated in terms of display, with a dial featuring 3 to 4 sub-dials. In terms of legibility, not the most practical choice. Recently, we reviewed a QP that solves this issue with great style and ingenuity, the H. Moser & Cie Endeavour Perpetual Calendar. With its super-clean display and technical movement, it impressed us. It comes back now in a new edition, under the name H. Moser & Cie Endeavour Perpetual Calendar Concept, an even cleaner version… or is it too clean? Let’s find out.