H. Moser & Cie. Drops Two Heritage Models, Including a new Chronograph

When thinking about indie brand H. Moser & Cie., you might have either the integrated Streamliner, the sporty Pioneer or the elegant Endeavour collections in mind. There is, however, another range that should be mentioned: a more discreet range with vintage-inspired design cues, the Heritage. Defined by its drum-shaped case with wire-like lugs, it makes a comeback this year with two new limited models: the Heritage Centre Seconds Espresso fumé, a classic time-only watch adding a new colour to an existing platform, and the Heritage Chronograph White fumé, a new chronograph powered by a movement that’s not the one usually seen at Moser. 

More discreet than the brand’s other lines, the Heritage collection is yet one that deserves a closer look. Inspired by the past (remember that Moser was founded in 1828) and yet modern in execution and proportions, its round cases recall the design of pocket watches and its tapered lugs recall an era when watches became gradually more adapted to the wrist. The Heritage collection was first introduced with retailer Bucherer in 2018, presenting a classic 1920s pilot’s watch look, before being adapted to other movements of the brand: time-only, tourbillon, dual time and perpetual calendar. Now, Moser looks at a different period of its history, with a 1940s-inspired chronograph.

The Heritage Chronograph White fume

If you search for chronographs produced by Moser in its modern history, you’ll see that most of them are powered by a fantastic movement, the Agengraph, a movement developed by Jean-Marc Wiederrecht of Agenhor, a company now owned by the MELB Group (owner of Moser). There is one exception to this rule, which was the Endeavour Chronograph Compax limited edition made with Massena LAB. Eager to bring a more classic aesthetic to the complication, both parties decided to adapt a traditional chronograph module on top of an in-house automatic Moser movement.

The same concept is back, this time in a Heritage case, with a classic 1940s layout. The new Heritage Chronograph White Fumé is a sizeable watch measuring 42mm by 13.8mm (more vintage in design than in proportions…), with the collection’s classic cues, including the wire-like lugs. The dial is inspired by Moser chronographs from the mid-20th century, which implies the presence of sub-dials (something the Agengraph cannot do). This fairly surprising watch, at least by Moser’s modern standards, relies on a silvery-white sunray-brushed dial with a discreet smoked effect at the periphery – less pronounced than most other creations of the brand. The layout is clearly old-school, with large Arabic numerals, a bi-compax display, a precision seconds track and a double-tachymeter scale to measure speeds from 300 to 30kph. Blued sword-shaped hands pair well with the dial, where all printings and graduations are rendered in dark blue. The finishing touch is the 1947-inspired Moser logo.

To obtain this classic two-register, 45-minute chronograph display, Moser takes its HMC 220 automatic movement and adapts a chronograph module by Dubois Dépraz on top of it. This means a movement with no fewer than 51 jewels, yet with a solid base that runs at 3Hz, stores 72 hours of power reserve and features a Straumann hairspring and a bi-directional pawl winding system. The decoration is classic Moser, with a darkened rotor and double stripes.

Worn on a grey kudu leather strap, the Heritage Chronograph White Fumé is a limited edition of 100 pieces, priced at CHF 29,200, EUR 34,100 or USD 34,100.

The Heritage Centre Seconds Espresso fume

The second watch, the Espresso Fumé, is a new iteration of a model we’ve seen in the past, with a Funky Blue dial or in a bronze case. Housed in a slimmer case measuring 42mm by 11.1mm, it retains the same overall design inspiration with a drum-shaped round case and thin, vintage-inspired lugs. Sapphire crystals on both sides protect the dial and reveal the movement.

The main attraction here is the new coffee-brown, gradient dial with the brand’s rather elegant transparent logo. Adding to the vintage aesthetic, the large Arabic numerals recall historic pilot’s watches, yet these are here rendered in a contemporary material. Indeed, the oversized applique numerals are done in Globolight, a ceramic-based material containing Super-LumiNova, paired with luminous Sword-shaped hands. Under the sapphire back is the brand’s time-only automatic HMC 200 calibre, running at 3Hz and boasting 3 days of power reserve.

Worn on a brown kudu leather strap with a steel pin buckle, the Heritage Centre Seconds is a limited edition of 200 pieces. It is priced at CHF 15,700, EUR 18,300 or USD 18,300.

For more details, please visit h-moser.com.