H. Moser & Cie Streamliner Flyback Chronograph Automatic

The H. Moser & Cie Streamliner Flyback Chronograph Automatic represents a radical departure from the brand’s existing portfolio of models. It demonstrates the company’s desire to engage with a younger audience while simultaneously fulfilling the desires of its traditional clientele.

In 1828, Heinrich Moser founded his eponymous company, H. Moser & Cie, in St. Petersburg, Russia. Moser, born in Schaffhausen, was a shrewd businessman and recognised the business potential of Russia. He left his native Switzerland and embarked on a perilous journey to St. Petersburg, a trip which nearly cost him his life. Ultimately, Moser came to the attention of Tsar Alexander and while he would occasionally witness tragedy, the entrepreneur would become synonymous with success.

During the 20th century, H. Moser & Cie experienced good times and bad. For example, in 1918, the original company was expropriated as a consequence of the Russian Revolution. In 1979, as the Swiss watch industry was being decimated by the advent of cheap quartz movements, the brand’s former factory in Le Locle was acquired by Dixi Mechanique group. In 2005, the Maison returned to its ancestral home of Schaffhausen and commenced making high-end watches in its own newly-built Manufacture.

In recent times, H. Moser & Cie have produced beautifully engineered, classical timepieces. The firm was acquired by MELB Holdings in 2012 with Edouard Meylan at its helm. With the arrival of Meylan, Moser introduced an array of new dial options and new models, designed to appeal to younger audiences. The brand still makes classical models but it also embraces modernity and originality, traits which are likely to resonate with younger would-be wearers.

Now, the Schaffhausen-based firm has released a new model, the H. Moser & Cie Streamliner Flyback Chronograph Automatic, taking the brand into uncharted territory. Some horophiles will swear undying love for this new watch while others may reject its advances. However, one thing is certain, since Edouard Meylan assumed day-to-day control of the brand, it has enjoyed much success and has never ceased to provoke discussion. Viva Meylan!

The brand’s press release (January 2020)

H. Moser & Cie presents the Streamliner Flyback Chronograph. Automatic, a new collection with steel integrated bracelet

H. Moser & Cie. is entering 2020 with a creation certain to make an impact! A new line, a new case, a new integrated bracelet, a new movement, a new dial, and new hands… Everything is new, everything is different, yet everything is Moser. Rather than imitate, the brand chooses to innovate, raising the existing rules to a new level. Fluid lines, geometric curves, dynamic forms, a harmony of contrasts and textures: H. Moser & Cie. adopts minimalism as its guiding force, creating the first integrated automatic chronograph with a central display to offer a flyback function. Named the Streamliner, it has its own distinct personality, is a strikingly different beauty, yet 100% Moser.

Over five years ago, H. Moser & Cie. started the development of an entirely new and unique product line. The initial idea was to design a steel case model with an integrated bracelet. The notion of fluidity and curved continuous lines quickly became inextricable. The name of this collection was an obvious choice: it would be Streamliner, after the first high-speed trains from the Twenties and Thirties whose rounded and aerodynamic curves it evokes. As key characteristic of the H. Moser & Cie. identity, minimalism is at the heart of the entire creation process, influencing everything from the aesthetic of the Streamliner to its movement and functions, as Edouard Meylan, CEO of H. Moser & Cie., explains: “We started with the bracelet, comfortable, elegant and different. We then designed this model around the chronograph function, as this was what we really wanted to highlight. The Streamliner is a chronograph which displays the time rather than a watch which features a chronograph. We preferred understatement, ergonomics, and legibility, opting for a central display with no sub dial: perfectly matching our minimalist philosophy. We took the very essence of the chronograph, and raised it to the next level”.

A CUSHION-SHAPE CASE WATCH WITH INTEGRATED STEEL BRACELET

The Streamliner Flyback Chronograph Automatic model is a form watch, with a steel cushion case 42.3 mm in diameter. With dynamic water resistance to 12 ATM, the chronograph function of the Streamliner Flyback Chronograph Automatic can be used underwater. Its off-centre crown, adorned with an “M”, balances the two chronograph push-buttons set at 10 and 2 o’clock. Designed as a truly sculptural piece, this case boasts harmonious proportions and beautiful aerodynamics. It is topped by a subtly domed Glassbox type sapphire crystal, echoed by the see-through case back. These lines extend to the integrated steel bracelet, which is elegantly curved to follow the shape of the wrist; the unique design of the links ensures that it sits perfectly on even the most slender of wrists. Highly complex in construction, this bracelet has extremely fluid lines, based on organic forms. All the links are articulated and feature a gentle wave combining a vertical brushed finish with polished surfaces. The bezel has a sunray brushed finish; the case has alternating brushed and polished surfaces, with hollowed and satin-finished forms on the sides, in a nod to the typical shapes of Moser cases.

A WORLD FIRST

As far as the movement is concerned, the Streamliner is the first automatic chronograph with a central display to feature a flyback function for the minutes and seconds. Its chronograph calibre is considered by a number of watchmaking experts to be one of the best ever made. This new calibre was developed by AGENHOR with support from the teams at H. Moser & Cie. based on a philosophy very similar to the famous H. Moser & Cie. perpetual calendar, the cornerstone of the manufacture’s success. The design watch is extremely complex but the end result is simple, legible, and minimalist, with an emphasis on functionality and ergonomics thanks to the central display. In fact, by highlighting the chronograph function, AGENHOR has rewritten all of the rules at the heart of chronograph technology which have followed for over 200 years. With the aim of enabling the watch mechanism and the operation of the chronograph and its column wheel to be admired, the oscillating weight has been placed between the movement and the dial. Using the retrograde principle which allows the elapsed minute hand to jump instantly using the energy accumulated and then released by a snail cam, the calibre HMC 902 allows the values to be read with greater accuracy. Featuring two chronograph hands, one for the minutes and one for the seconds, and two time display hands, one for the hours and one for the minutes, the Streamliner Flyback Chronograph Automatic is nothing if not understated.

A NEW SIGNATURE DIAL

For the dial of the Streamliner Flyback Chronograph Automatic, H. Moser & Cie. has revisited the brand’s signature element, the fumé dial. Featuring a new anthracite shade of grey, the dial is not only fumé, it is also griffé. Around the circumference are two white and red minute tracks, the outer one measuring the seconds and the inner one counting the minutes. At midday, the 60 numeral dominates the dial, harking back to the stopwatches of the Sixties and Seventies, when legibility and functionality were key. Of course, for a chronograph, accuracy is everything: this is ensured by the choice of hands to measure the elapsed time, which have a thicker base and a fine tip, like those found on counters in cars or measuring instruments. Always with a focus on legibility, H. Moser & Cie. has opted for a red seconds hand, while the minute hand is rhodium-plated. To display the hours and minutes, H. Moser & Cie. has selected three-dimensional curved hands, with two sections. These have inserts containing Globolight®, an innovative ceramic-based material which contains Super-LumiNova® and has never before been used on hands.

STREAMLINER COMBINES PAST WITH PRESENT AND FUTURE

With the Streamliner Flyback Chronograph Automatic model, H. Moser & Cie. has created a new line, with a design and a movement which are sure to become iconic. 192 years after H. Moser & Cie. was founded, this chronograph represents everything that the manufacture stands for today. The result of dedication and hard work, the Streamliner Flyback Chronograph Automatic draws a line between the past and the future, with this model marking the start of a new era for H. Moser & Cie.