The Endeavour Concept Minute Repeater Tourbillon Aqua Blue (Ref. 1904-0400) by H. Moser & Cie. features a new minute repeater movement in a 40mm diameter case, either in red gold or titanium. The wristwatch combines one of the most traditional and romantic watch complications with a magnificent flying tourbillon performing a spinning waltz.
True to its minimalist philosophy, the manufacture has extracted the quintessence of this complication and showcased it in a brand-new design which reveals the complex chime mechanism for the hours, quarter-hours and minutes on the dial side.
This involved overcoming many technical challenges. In particular, the chimes (which are placed on one level to preserve the finesse of the piece) had to be curved so as not to interfere with the flying tourbillon and to respect H. Moser’s overarching goal of keeping the design understated.
Stripped of logos and indices, the “Grand Feu” enamel dial provides a stunning yet minimalist backdrop to the exquisite choreography in which the hammers and gongs twirl in a consummate ballet, accompanying the dance of the one-minute flying tourbillon at six o’clock. The one-minute flying tourbillon, visible behind a skeletonised bridge, is boldly contemporary, and appears to float weightlessly above the dial.
The dial is created from “Grand Feu” enamel in brand-new Aqua Blue on a base with a hammered texture. Starting with a pattern engrained onto a gold base, as if hammered, four different colour pigments are washed, finely crushed, and then applied to create an ombré effect.
It took approximately one hour of careful work for the master enameller to painstakingly apply the pigments, adding them one by one so that the colours oxidise and meld together when heated in the furnace, without any pixelation. A translucent “Grand Feu” enamel dial must be fired twelve times in total to create the signature H. Moser fumé effect.
Each dial is, therefore, unique. The finish is remarkable; resolutely contemporary, with a particularly striking texture and an intense Aqua Blue, that the Schaffhausen-based manufacture lets speak for itself, with no logo or indices to distract from it.
Much work has gone into the 40 mm diameter case, available in red gold or titanium, to optimise the sound and achieve the perfect balance between volume, resonance and harmony. The case middle has been widened to the maximum in order to accommodate the movement while allowing enough space to create a soundbox.
This amplifies the chiming of hours, quarter-hours and minutes by two gongs, onto which fall two hammers that are raised based on information provided by different feeler-spindles. And because elegance is an essential element for H. Moser & Cie., the watch has been designed to retain classic, perfectly balanced dimensions and proportions.
The driving force behind this unique creation is the HMC 904 hand-wound calibre, a new movement whose beauty can be admired through various skeletonised parts and the sapphire crystal. Hand-stitched alligator leather binds the watch to the wrist.
