H. Moser & Cie is an independent watch brand that has become known as the enfant terrible of the Swiss watchmaking industry. Quite a polarising brand, they made their name initially creating beautiful elegant timepieces but in the last few years, they have really become a force to reckon with introducing satire into their watchmaking, with pieces such as the one-off ‘Swiss Cheese’ watch and ‘Apple’ watch. I for one think this is refreshing that a brand is taking an active stand to criticize and create a commentary on the Swiss watch industry, especially as it comes from a brand with a very strong pedigree.
First of all, let’s talk about the elephant in the room, which is undoubtedly the name of the watch we are offering here today – the Pioneer Tourbillon ‘Mega Cool’, limited to 50 pieces. The CEO of Moser – Eduard Meylan, once said in an interview that the name arose organically when some of the other Moser employees caught a sneak peek of the watch during development, and it literally just got coined as is. I personally thought this was a very fitting move considering the personality of the brand as a whole.
The case of the Pioneer Tourbillon is crafted in steel and measures 42.8mm x 10.8mm (excluding the sapphire crystal) in size. It features a screw-down crown, 120m of water resistance, and some very tasteful alternating polished and brushed finishing across all surfaces. In my opinion, this gives the Pioneer Tourbillon a very sporty aesthetic and personality.
If you follow the brand close enough, I think it is no surprise that Moser makes one of the best fumé dials in the industry, period. There is a very mesmeric quality about the fumé dials made by Moser and the dial on the Pioneer Tourbillon is no different, because during my time with it, I found myself constantly staring at the fumé dial instead of actually looking at the time. Dubbed the Blue Lagoon, the dial evokes the color of turquoise waters of island lagoons under different shades of lighting. This is mainly attributed to the sunburst gradient which complements the emerald green tone as it radiates from the center of the dial. In other words, this watch screams of summer. The dial also adorns the Moser logo at 12 o ‘clock in transparent lacquer, a very discrete and tasteful touch.
At the 6 o ‘clock position, you will find the glorious one-minute flying tourbillon that is traversed by a skeletonized bridge for maximum visual appeal and viewing pleasure. As far as movement is concerned, it houses an in-house automatic HMC 804 with a patented double hairspring, which is also produced in-house. It guarantees timekeeping precision by regulating positional errors and by reducing the effect of friction typically found in single hairspring configurations. The HMC 804 also features a respectable 72-hour power reserve.
Another ingenious feature of the Pioneer Tourbillon is the modularity of its tourbillon. Yes, you heard that right. The tourbillon escapement can actually be easily extracted from its cage, which makes servicing and maintenance much easier.
I love Moser, for what they stand for in the watchmaking industry as a whole, and for always being unapologetically true to themselves when it comes to modern watch design. Yes, this may not be full avant-garde like many other modern independent watch brands that are available in the market today, but I personally think Moser has found a niche of its own in this highly saturated watch market, and a way to offer a complicated watch that can actually be worn under very typical and normal circumstances- like on a holiday while sipping margaritas at the pool.
In a nutshell, this watch is indeed a very cool one. It is, in fact, Mega Cool.
