New: H. Moser Streamliner Small Seconds Blue Enamel

Moser adds a new Small Seconds watch with a beautiful fumé blue enamel dial to their Streamliner Seconds collection.

Press Release information with commentary in italics.

New: H. Moser Streamliner Small Seconds Blue Enamel

Retail price for the H. Moser Streamliner Small Seconds Blue Enamel is SGD 51,000 inclusive of GST.

Commentary

The Moser Streamliner collection has become a standard bearer for the Schaffhausen based maison since the launch in of the first H. Moser Streamliner Flyback Chronograph Automatic in 2020. This was quickly followed up in the same year by the H. Moser Streamliner Center Seconds. The success of the Streamliner collection is not a surprise. The design is quite spectacular and very handsome. It is well built, and nicely appointed. The landscape in which it appears is the very heavily contested genre of the luxury steel sports watch with integrated bracelet.

For this year, Moser chose to release a new Streamliner. Smaller case diameter. Thinner. And equipped with a new small seconds movement. The dial is also special in this launch edition – in an enamel coated, textured Aqua Blue fumé dial. The dial is engrained with a texture, to look like it was hammered to create the texture, looking similar to the tremblage used by other makers. And three different colour pigments are used, each added one at a time and heated in a furnace. The final effect is a grand feu enamel translucence that conveys a certain depth of colour. Fired up to 12 times to create the Moser’s signature fumé effect, each dial is unique. Another interesting feature is that the lume on the hands are made by using solid block of luminiscent material called Globolight^®, an innovative ceramic-based material containing Super-LumiNova^®.

The watch’s signature case, bracelet and the combination of the grand feu textured fumé blue dial is so distinctive that the watch does not need a signature on the dial. It is immediately recognisable as a H. Moser creation.

Flip the watch over, and we see a new automatic HMC 500 caliber. Bertrand Meylan told us at the launch event earlier in October, that this new movement will be the base for new smaller movements, and will be a platform for partner (now partly owned by MELB, Moser’s holding company) – Agenhor to develop complications on. Interesting.

Pricing remains at a rather even keel with the center seconds model. At CHF 30k, it is quite competitive when compared to its bigger brother – the Streamliner Center Seconds which retailed at CHF 20k. The difference between the two is that the Small Seconds is smaller case (1mm difference, but in reality when trying the watch on, the novelty feels quite a bit smaller, or shall we say, right sized), the new textured fumé blue enamel dial. As with other family comparisons scenarios, only you can decide if the CHF 10k premium is worth it. For us, we are persuaded that it is.

Release information

With the Streamliner Small Seconds Blue Enamel, H. Moser & Cie. is combining exclusivity, performance and craftsmanship in a single model. More than a product, the Manufacture is offering an objet d’art for those who appreciate discreetly refined, high-performance watchmaking. At the heart of a steel case with new lines and proportions and dimensions perfectly suited to its movement is the brand’s 18th Manufacture calibre. A true embodiment of H. Moser & Cie.’s technical and aesthetic prowess, this creation is set to become one of the must-have timepieces of the independent watchmaking world.

Made of steel and measuring 39 mm in diameter, the cushion-shaped case of the Streamliner Small Seconds Blue Enamel model is still water-resistant to 12 ATM and inspired by the curves and roundness of the first high-speed trains of the 20s and 30s, from which it takes its name. However, its proportions have been reworked to give it more elongated lines, made possible by the smaller dimensions of the new calibre HMC 500. Integrated into the case, the steel bracelet is elegantly arced to extend the curves of the case. Highly complex in construction, it has extremely fluid lines, based on organic forms. The links, all unique and articulated, are the height of subtle sophistication, and supple flexibility.

To accentuate the steel of the case and bracelet, H. Moser & Cie. has chosen a Grand Feu enamel dial. Named “Aqua Blue”, it reinterprets the brand’s renowned signature fumé finish with the artistic flourish of a master craftsman. Starting with a pattern engrained onto a gold base, as if hammered, three different colour pigments are washed, finely crushed, then applied to create an ombré effect. Careful work and limitless patience are required 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 pixellation. A translucent “Grand Feu” enamel dial must be fired twelve times in total to create the fumé effect, where the lighter shades in the centre gradually deepen. Each dial is unique. Steel applique indices punctuate the edge of the dial, which features no logo. To display the hours and minutes, the three-dimensional hands made from two sections feature inserts with Globolight^®, an innovative ceramic-based material containing Super-LumiNova^®. The offset small seconds is displayed at 6 o’clock on a lacquered sub-dial with a circular pattern, offering a beautiful contrast with the base dial.

Driving the Streamliner Small Seconds Blue Enamel model, the new automatic calibre HMC 500 is 100% Moser, 100% Manufacture-made. It is the smallest movement H. Moser & Cie. has developed in the 21st century. Edouard Meylan, CEO of H. Moser & Cie., reflects on the development of this movement: “Our starting objective was to have a movement that was slim yet high performance. We then spent a great deal of time working to optimise the dimensions, which is why we decided to integrate a micro-rotor for the first time in our history. Made from solid platinum, this micro-rotor is mounted on a ball bearing, equipped with a bi-directional pawl winding system, and offers sufficient barrel torque to provide a power reserve of 74 hours. We have had to develop new smaller, slimmer components and mechanisms which could then be integrated into the available volume. The escapement was also miniaturised, whilst ensuring its performance remained unchanged, a technical feat made possible thanks to the expertise of our sister company, Precision Engineering AG. Because of the volume, the torque and the winding system, this was no easy task, but the result is a movement which will serve as a base for our small cases, and will enable us to introduce new complications, by combining it with modules developed in-house or in collaboration with our partner Agenhor”. The calibre HMC 500 features open bridges with a highly contemporary finish, decorated with the traditional Moser stripes and an anthracite grey coating. The company hallmark is proudly showcased on the micro-rotor.

H. Moser & Cie.’s own and unique take on Haute Horlogerie.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS – STREAMLINER SMALL SECONDS BLUE ENAMEL

Reference 6500-1200, steel model, Aqua Blue fumé dial, integrated steel bracelet

Case
Steel topped by a slightly domed sapphire crystal
Diameter: 39.0 mm
Height without sapphire crystal: 9.3 mm; Height with sapphire crystal: 10.9 mm
See-through case-back
Screw-in crown adorned with an “M”
Water-resistant to 12 ATM

Dial
Aqua Blue fumé “Grand Feu” enamel with hammered texture
Applique indices
Hour and minute hands with Globolight^® inserts
Lacquered small seconds sub-dial with a circular pattern

Movement
Automatic calibre HMC 500, partially skeletonised
Diameter: 30.0 mm or 13 ^1/4 lignes
Height: 4.5 mm
Frequency:  21,600 Vib/h
26 jewels
Automatic bi-directional pawl winding system
Solid platinum micro-rotor engraved with the H. Moser hallmark
Power reserve: minimum of 74 hours
Original Straumann^® hairspring
Finish with Moser stripes

Functions
Hours and minutes
Small seconds at 6 o’clock

Strap/bracelet
Integrated steel bracelet 
Folding clasp with three steel blades, engraved with the Moser logo