H.Moser & Cie has been teasing us for a while now with their upcoming ‘Streamliner’ release. The wait is finally over as the brand has released the first 100 pieces this morning. While the initial release is limited to 100 pieces, I’d say it is a pretty safe bet that the Streamliner collection is here to stay and will continue to grow going forward.
Not having had a chance of a preview with the actual watch, I’m going to stick to the essentials and first impressions. Looking to add a more detailed hands-on at a later date.
While it would be easy to start with the integrated bracelet, let’s take a moment to appreciate the movement here. The Calibre is the HMC902, unlike most Moser watches this calibre is not a purebred in-house movement. This particular movement (a.k.a. AgenGraphe) is developed by Agenhor. It looks quite spectacular and variants of this particular calibre can be found in other watches (The Singer Reimagined comes to mind).
Looking at the Calibre, one could easily assume that this is a manual wind chronographChronograph A chronograph complication is a feature in a watch that allows the wearer to measure elapsed time in addition to telling the time. It works by having a separate set of gears and levers, called the chronograph mechanism, which is activated by pressing a button or a pusher. The chronograph mechanism starts and stops the chronograph's second hand, which is usually located on the watch's dial, separate from the regular watch hands. The elapsed time is usually displayed on a sub-dial or a register on the watch's dial. [Learn More] movement. That is incorrect however. The Rotor is hidden between the dial and the movement, visually very interesting as it allows a full view on the gorgeous mechanics.
In addition to being a visually intriguing automatic movement, this is also a flybackFlyback A flyback function on a chronograph watch, allows the user to reset the chronograph back to zero and start timing again with a single button press (no need to first stop the watch). [Learn More] chronograph. A very clean interpretation of what a chronograph can be, with no distracting subdials since the hands of the chronograph are coaxially mounted on the centre of the dial.
The dial has the signature fumé look, this time with a twist by having added a brushed look to it. Notice also that GloboLight makes a re-appearance, previously seen on other Moser watches. The Hour and minute hands are broad syringe style hands with the tips essentially being solid lume. The red seconds hands avoids confusing it with the chrono hand, a nice touch.
Now, about the case and bracelet. All steel and fully integrated. The case has an umistakable retro vibe to it thanks to the cushion-shaped case. Cushion shaped cases are not for everyone, and neither are Moser watches. Notice another typical Moser detail, the sculpted sides. Within the sculpted groove you will find the pushers, which by the way can be operated under water (the watch offers a very cool 120m water resistance).
It’s great to see they went their own way as opposed to the more recent attempts by other brands taking a little bit too much inspiration from the Nautilus and Royal Oaks of the world. This stands on its own and I’m very relieved to see this (I’ve been looking forward to this release for quite some time now).
Edouard Meylan, CEO of H. Moser & Cie., summarizes it quite nicely: “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”.
This particular release is retailing at a hair under USD 40.000,00 and this edition is limited to 100 pieces. The Streamliner collection however is very likely to grow in the future and if a chronograph isn’t quite your cup of tea then a time only version seems a likely candidate for the next iteration.
More info right here