I Guess You Could Say This Watch Is An MB&F&HM&C.
With All This Turmoil Around The World, It Is Vital That Everyone Stick Together And Stay United In Weathering The Storm. For Two Independent Watch Brands – H. Moser & Cie And MB&F – They Have Taken It Quite Literally, Forming A Very Unlikely Collaboration To Produce Two Incredible, Limited Edition Pieces. So How Exactly Did Two Independent Watch Brands With Quite Contrasting Design Philosophies Manage To Find A Middle Ground? Let’s Find Out.
Moser & Cie is a brand that at its core, loves distilling the art of watchmaking down to its simplest and purest elements. They have perfected the fumé dial so much so that at times they even remove their logo altogether, trusting that this single element is enough to identify the Moser brand. On the other side of the spectrum, MB&F takes pride in pushing the concept of a watch. They break down and reconstruct the timekeeping device into forms that have never been seen before.
Although these two brands may seem to have very different philosophies, the one unifying factor is the fact that they are run by two personalities who are infinitely passionate about watchmaking. Professionally, MB&F had already been working with Precision Engineering AG – a sister company of Moser. Also, Edouard Meylan of Moser and Maximilian Büsser of MB&F are longstanding acquaintances who both appreciate and respect each other on personal and professional levels. So when Büsser made the phone call to Meylan with a request for collaboration, Meylan agreed on the condition that Moser is also allowed to reinterpret one of Büsser’s pieces. And for this, the FlyingT was suggested.
The Endeavour Cylindrical Tourbillon H. Moser × MB&F keeps the original concept of a three-dimensional movement but has equipped the tourbillon with a cylindrical balance spring, the same complication developed by Precision Engineering AG for MB&F’s LM Thunderdome. This cylindrical balance spring is akin to a corkscrew, rising perpendicularly around the upper rod of the balance staff. Because of its shape, it can reduce pivot friction and greatly improve isochronism.
To ensure that the three-dimensional structure of the movement doesn’t commandeer all the attention of the wearer but instead shares it with their signature fumé dial, Moser has crafted an ingenious sapphire subdial for this watch. On the original FlyinT, the subdial displaying the time is inclined at a 40° angle so that the reading of time is kept secret from everyone except the wearer. By using sapphire for this component, the wearer is still able to tell the time, and as it is transparent, they will also be able to admire the fumé dial behind it.
This Endeavour Cylindrical Tourbillon H. Moser × MB&F will be available at Cortina Watch in steel cases with four different Fume dials – Funky Blue, Cosmic Green, Burgundy or Off-White. Each variant is a limited edition of 15 pieces as a nod to the 15th anniversary of MB&F as well as honouring the 15th anniversary of the relaunch of H. Moser & Cie.
Written by Daniel Goh
Enquire more on this piece online!
Technical Specifications
Case
– Steel topped by a high domed sapphire crystal
– Diameter: 42.0 mm
– Height: 19.5 mm
– Height without crystal sapphire: 9.4 mm
– Crown at 9 o’clock, engraved with a “M“
– See-through sapphire crystal case back
Dial
– Main dial: Funky Blue fumé, Burgundy fumé, Cosmic Green fumé, Off-White fumé or Ice Blue fumé with sunburst pattern
– Hours and the minutes displayed on a 40° vertically tilted sapphire dial at 6 o’clock
– Leaf-shaped hour and minute hands, blued on the reference 1810-1203
Movement
– HMC 810 three- dimensional automatic Manufacture caliber
– Diameter: 32.0 mm or 14 1/4 lignes
– Height: 5.5 mm
– Frequency: 21,600 vibrations/hour
– 29 jewels
– 184 components
– Automatic bi-directional pawl winding system
– Oscillating weight in 18-carat gold with engraved H. Moser & Cie. logo
– Power reserve: minimum 72 hours
– Cylindrical hairspring
– One-minute flying tourbillon at 12 o’clock with skeletonised bridges
Functions
– Hours and minutes
Strap
– Hand-stitched black alligator leather
– Steel folding clasp engraved with the Moser logo