H. Moser & Cie. Fuses Two Calendar Cultures in the Endeavour Chinese Calendar

H. Moser & Cie. pulled off one of the purest and most intuitive interpretations of the perpetual calendar when it unveiled its Endeavour Perpetual Calendar Concept in 2015. Visually taking the ‘complicated’ out of the perpetual calendar complication, it was the pinnacle of minimalism and user-friendliness. Today, Moser takes a massive leap up the complications ladder, producing an exceptionally legible and balanced display of the hyper-complex Chinese calendar complication. Combining the Chinese lunisolar calendar with the solar Gregorian calendar is not a novelty – we have seen other brands like Blancpain and Parmigiani Fleurier tackle this beast – but nobody has pulled it off with such elegance and discretion. Developed in collaboration with partner Agenhor SA, the Endeavour Chinese Calendar represents the harmonious fusion of two cultures.

Without analysing the intrinsic difficulties of uniting an already impossibly complicated and irregular lunisolar calendar with a lunar calendar, suffice it to say that Moser’s Endeavour Chinese Calendar watch will not need any corrections for 12 years. If you compare this to other models on the market requiring at least 70 manual corrections every 12 years, Agenhor’s mechanical wizardry is unsurpassable. Displaying the months and days of the Chinese calendar, the days of the Gregorian calendar, the moon phases and the zodiac signs associated with each Chinese year, the movement operates with two cams working in parallel, relaying the information via feelers.

In another departure from existing Chinese Calendar watches, the Endeavour does not lean on Oriental design motifs. It is, according to CEO Edouard Meylan, “a contemporary Westernised interpretation” that is legible and balanced.

The curvaceous 40mm red gold Endeavour case has a thickness of 13mm and features the attractive hollowed-out area on the caseband that characterises this collection. Polished throughout, the area surrounding the scalloped indentations has a contrasting vertically brushed finish.

A signature feature of many Moser watches is the use of fumé dials, and this one features a lovely Midnight Blue colour. The indices are applied, and the gold hour, minute and small seconds hands are leaf-shaped. Although it is not as sleek and Spartan as some of the perpetual calendar models at Moser, the dial upholds the brand’s innate elegance and emphasis on legibility. Two crescent-shaped incisions, facing in opposite directions, display the Chinese lunisolar months on the left and the Chinese lunisolar days and the moon phases on the right; both apertures are indicated by gold round-tipped retrograde hands. At noon, the rounded triangular window reveals the Chinese year and the associated animal of the zodiac (it also displays the embolismic month when there is a 13-month year that remains black in a standard 12-month Gregorian year). And finally, just beneath the small seconds counter at 6 o’clock is the Gregorian date window.

Earlier this year, we reported MELB Luxe’s (owner of H. Moser, Hautlence and Precision Engineering AG) acquisition of a minority stake in Agenhor SA, the Geneva-based complication maker founded by master watchmaker Jean-Marc Widerrecht. The base movement is Moser’s HMC 200 automatic, fitted with the Agenhor module. The HMC 210 calibre beats at a frequency of 21,600vph, has a solid 18k gold oscillating weight, an original Straumann hairspring (in-house) and a power reserve of 3 days or 72 hours. When we do a hands-on session, we will provide extensive coverage and more details of this incredibly complex movement.

Availability & Price

The H. Moser & Cie. Endeavour Chinese Calendar is a limited edition of 100 pieces and comes with a brown hand-stitched alligator leather strap with a red gold folding clasp. The price is CHF 68,000 or EUR 78,200 (incl. tax).

For more information, please consult h-moser.com.