H. Moser brought a surprisingly colorful selection of watches to Watches & Wonders earlier this year with the Pop collection of 18 distinct references, each composed of stone sections to create an array of bold, graphic dials. Thanks to their use of stone, those watches were quite limited in production, but the idea lives on this week with the release of a new Spiced Aqua collection consisting of three watches that make use of a similarly vibrant palette. The new watches land in the Pioneer family, ranging from the Centre Seconds, the Tourbillon, and the Cylindrical Tourbillon Skeleton, each emblazoned in bright oranges and blues.
The folks behind H. Moser are no strangers to embracing the unorthodox, so these colorful takes on rather serious horological machinery feels right at home for the brand. Further, it doesn’t feel like a forced addition, but rather has been incorporated into the designs of these watches in a rather organic manner, particularly as seen in the Cylindrical Tourbillon Skeleton, which houses a movement that seems to embrace big colors with ease.
It would be easy to frame these watches through the lens of summer and a new season, but I don’t think watches should be viewed in such a narrow context. These aren’t seasonal items, like a pair of flip flops, and they shouldn’t be treated that way. These are colors you should be able to enjoy year round, perhaps as a way to bring the season with you. Whatever your take, these watches don’t half-ass it.
Things start with the Pioneer Centre Seconds, which is presented two ways here. The first is a regular steel case (42mm) mounted to a white rubber strap, while the second is, well, still a steel case but this one has received a black DLC coating, and comes attached to an orange rubber strap. Both watches get a turquoise fumé dial with orange lume accents, including within the hands themselves. This watch uses the brand’s in-house automatic caliber HMC 201, which is visible through an open caseback. These are priced at $16,900.
Next we move to the Pioneer Tourbillon which reverses the color scheme, featuring an orange fumé dial with turquoise details. The star here is the exposed tourbillon at six o’clock which is at work within the brand’s HMC 805 caliber. This is set within a 40mm steel case (no DLC option here). Pricing for this watch is set at $59,500.
Finally, the Pioneer Cylindrical Tourbillon Skeleton is the most expressive of the bunch. The star here is the fully skeletonized caliber HMC 811 which, as the name suggests, employs a cylindrical tourbillon providing plenty of dimensionality to the watch as a whole. The bridges here are black, and provide a high contrast base for the domed orange sub-dial with turquoise Globolight lume serving as the hour markers. It’s one hell of a sight and presents a vibrant, unexpected take on high-horology unique to the brand. This watch is priced at $93,500.
Together, these watches represent a continuation of the ethos first put forth in the Pop collection, and while they don’t use stone, they do elicit the same strong emotions at a glance. H. Moser
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