H. Moser & Cie. Heritage Tourbillon Funky Blue – Another Kind of Vintage Inspiration

Earlier this year, H. Moser & Cie. introduced a brand new design, with unprecedented inspirations… A retro-styled watch, which didn’t hark back to the 1950s or the 1960s like the rest of the industry, but at something much older. This “Heritage” piece was first launched in collaboration with retailer Bucherer, as one of its “Blue Editions”. The same concept is now back in regular production, yet with a different colour and mainly, with a combination of a steel case and a tourbillon movement. Let’s look at the H. Moser & Cie. Heritage Tourbillon Funky Blue.

When it comes to vintage-inspired pieces, almost every brand takes the glorious 1960s as a source of inspiration for the design. And this is a good idea because, to be honest, the designs back then were quite amazing. Still, when your name is H. Moser & Cie., you have to think differently. First of all, the brand’s past is slightly chaotic and 1960s inspiration seems more forced here. Secondly, you know the unconventional way Moser likes to do things.

When the time came for Moser to create its first real vintage-inspired piece, the brand took a different path. The idea was to look at early wristwatches from the 1920s, with military design clues and the hallmark converted pocket watch shape. Hence the design of this Heritage collection, with its typical case found on early 20th-century pieces.

For its debut in Moser’s regular collection, the Heritage watch is equipped with a tourbillon, although the rest of the watch is quite close in spirit to the version introduced together with Bucherer. The case is the same 42mm stainless steel case, fully polished. The shape is typically 1920s and reminiscent of early wristwatches. Back then, wearing a watch on the wrist was still the exception and most of these wrist-worn timepieces were converted pocket watches – pilots and soldiers soldered lugs on their watch for more practicality.

For this reason, the H. Moser & Cie. Heritage Tourbillon features a fully round case, with no sharp lines and wire lugs. The crown, with its flat onion shape, also reminds of those found on antique pocket watches. The overall design is pleasant, original and consistent. The execution is beyond reproach. Despite the rather large diameter of this watch, it benefits from the thin, short lugs and provides great comfort – also aided by the use of steel, which is lighter than gold.

The dial sticks to the design introduced on the Bucherer edition and again plays on 1920s pilot-watches inspiration: large gothic Arabic numerals, combined with skeletonized hands filled with Super-LumiNova. For this inaugural model in the standard collection, H. Moser & Cie. goes for the classic Funky Blue colour, paired with the hallmark “fumé” gradient decoration – darker on the periphery of the dial. As always, this colour is extremely attractive.

The main novelty with this edition concerns the mechanics. Replacing the automatic 3-hand movement of the Bucherer edition is its tourbillon evolution – a movement found in other collections, such as the Pioneer Tourbillon or the Endeavour Tourbillon Concept. The calibre HMC 804, produced almost entirely in-house, is an automatic movement with solid 3-day power reserve. It is equipped with usual Moser’s delicacies, such as the double hairspring architecture or the interchangeable regulating organ. The view from the back reveals a nicely decorated movement, with large waves on the bridges, gold chatons and polished chamfers.

The H. Moser & Cie. Heritage Tourbillon Funky Blue will be a non-limited edition watch. It is worn on a Kudu leather strap. It will be priced at CHF 49,900 or EUR 47,600. More details at www.h-moser.com.