H. Moser & Cie. Endeavour Perpetual Moon Concept Aventurine

H. Moser & Cie. introduces the Endeavour Perpetual Moon Concept Aventurine, a limited edition of 50 pieces in red gold or steel. Like all the Concept watches at Moser, the dial is stripped down to its bare essentials. Set against a majestic dark blue aventurine sky, the Moon is the undisputed star of the show as it goes through its hyper-precise cycles of waxing and waning. 

What is a Moser Concept watch?

Stripped down to the essentials (to say the least), but still quite fascinating.

A concept watch at H.Moser & Cie. has a slightly different meaning from the usual interpretation. Like concept cars, a concept watch is usually a one-off piece designed to showcase the brand’s wildest dreams or state-of-the-art technology and test reactions before going into production, or not. Moser’s idea of a concept watch is a watch stripped of indices, logo and any other markings save the bare necessities to tell the time. Why? There are a couple of reasons. The debunking of the traditional interpretation of a concept watch is very in line with Moser’s tongue-in-cheek attitude towards the revered giants of the Swiss watch industry. It’s also a clever marketing strategy: watches produced by Moser have such a distinctive look that even without any telltale markings or logos, you know that it is a Moser – or is it precisely because they don’t have any telltale markings that you know it is a Moser? Whichever way, brand recognition is high.

Last year, Moser produced a very strange watch indeed known as the Endeavour Perpetual Moon Concept Vantablack. The darkest and most Spartan moon-phase watch ever conceived, the pitch-black dial was crafted from Vantablack, a nanotube-based pigment that is the darkest artificial substance on Earth capable of absorbing practically every last speck of light. Set against this black hole background, the moon-phase function at 6 o’clock was the star of the show. This red gold Endeavour Perpetual Moon Concept Aventurine model is, one could say, a more illuminating take on the Vantablack flaunting a dark blue aventurine dial with twinkling stars.

Smooth flowing contours

The case, available in steel or 18k 5N red gold, measures 42mm and has a height of 13.1mm and features the attractive groove on the case band that distinguishes the Endeavour family. Perhaps a little large and a little thick for an orthodox dress watch, the case is nevertheless extremely elegant and responds to more contemporary dimensions. Most of the outward-facing surfaces are polished while the flanks of the case are brushed. The smooth rounded contours of the case and lugs appear to be crafted from one piece of metal and flow in a sensual line while the short lugs allow the watch to sit comfortably on most wrist sizes. The only trace of labelling is in the form of an “M” on the crown.

Reaching for the Moon and the stars

The aventurine dial of this watch looks as though it was carved straight out of a clear (moonless) night sky twinkling with stars. Blue aventurine glass, which is also known as goldstone, gets its silvery sparkle from cobalt or manganese particles mixed in the molten glass (there is also a mineral known as aventurine, a form of quartz with mica inclusions that also produces the optical phenomenon of “aventurescence”)

The large aperture for the moon-phase complication at 6 o’clock is suspended in the stellar scenery interrupted only by the classic Moser leaf-shaped hands. Along with the hour, minute and central seconds hand is a fourth hand, a tiny day/night indicator on the central axis that rotates once every 24 hours. The right half of the dial (from12 to 6 o’clock) corresponds to AM and the left (from 7 to 11 o’clock) to PM.

Lunatic about precision

Fitted with one of the most precise moon-phase complications available, with one day’s deviation every 1,027 years, the phases can be adjusted to the minute by a push-button on the side of the case. On average, the Moon’s orbital period lasts 29.53059 days. To be more precise: 29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes and 2.9 seconds. The Endeavour Perpetual Moon Concept’s intricate wheel train portrays this interval so precisely that the gap is a mere 0.23 seconds per day, that is to say, one day’s deviation after 1027.30 years. The Moon is depicted with a silvery textured surface and is set against a blue background. To adjust the phases of the Moon, there is recessed pusher on the left case flank.

HMC 801 hand-wound calibre

The sapphire crystal caseback reveals Moser’s in-house hand-wound calibre HMC 801 based on the perpetual calendar movement HMC 341. Fitted with two barrels, the movement delivers an impressive 7-day power reserve and there is a power reserve indicator on the main bridge. Another unique feature is the interchangeable Moser escapement module that simplifies adjustment and servicing of the watch. Hacking seconds enable the watch to be set precisely to the second and you get a good view of Moser’s original Straumann hairspring and the gold escapement wheel and pallet fork. Decorated to Moser’s exacting standards with extra-large jewels and screwed gold chatons, the bridges feature Moser’s hallmark double stripes.

Thoughts

A beautiful watch that transmits the majesty and serenity of a starry night sky, this Endeavour Perpetual Moon Concept Aventurine is destined for the more poetically inclined. With its quintessential Moser minimalism and elegance, the generous aperture for the Moon reveals the waxing and waning of our satellite with unprecedented accuracy. One comment: couldn’t the blue background accompanying the Moon have been closer in colour to the midnight-blue aventurine, or even made from a sliver of aventurine glass?

Availability and price

The red gold Endeavour Perpetual Moon Concept Aventurine, a limited edition of 50 pieces, comes with a black alligator strap and matching gold pin buckle. The price of the red gold model is CHF 39,900. More details at h-moser.com.