H. Moser & Cie Endeavour Minute Repeater Cylindrical Tourbillon Skeleton

H. Moser & Cie. fearlessly takes two of its most prestigious complications, strips away all superfluous elements, and reveals them up front in the Endeavour Minute Repeater Cylindrical Tourbillon Skeleton. Exposing its dial-side minute repeater and cylindrical hairspring flying tourbillon in a fully skeletonised form, Moser ascends to new heights on the complications ladder.

Launched in 2019, the Endeavour Concept Minute Repeater Tourbillon reframed its traditional complications in a new light. Benefitting from the minimalist contemporary “Concept” setting, the chiming mechanism was exposed between 9 and 11 o’clock and the one-minute flying tourbillon at 6 o’clock. An audacious staging, no doubt, but nothing compared to the skeletonised spectacle afforded by the new Endeavour.

Embracing skeletonisation – often considered a complication in its own right – Moser draws the curtains open for a unique mechanical show. Stepping out of the shadows, the entire minute repeater mechanism is exposed. Beyond the mirror-polished hammers and gongs revealed in earlier editions, the watch strips back the bridges to expose a fascinating mechanical landscape. Obviously, this radical construction required a complete rethinking of the movement. To avoid interfering with the flying tourbillon, the gongs have to be curved and placed on the same plane. If tuning round gongs is already challenging, tuning curved gongs is another story.

A small domed sub-dial at 2 o’clock interrupts the complex mechanical scenery to offer the time. Decorated with Moser’s signature fumé effect, the Funky Blue gradient intensifies to an almost black colour at the periphery. It hosts traditional Roman numerals and a railway-style minutes track, indicated by leaf-shaped hands, which contrasts with the contemporary skeletonisation below. Almost invisible, the H. Moser & Cie. signature is traced in transparent lacquer.

Housed in a 40mm x 14.4mm titanium case with a hollowed-out middle case to create a resonant soundbox, titanium is light and rigid, with low damping, preserving vibrational energy rather than dissipating it. This results in a fuller, longer and clearer chime. The sliding bolt that activates the minute repeater is mounted on a Teflon runner to ensure smooth gliding and is integrated into the mainplate to optimise space.

With barely a bridge in sight, the deep well of the flying tourbillon allows light to reach the regulator from both the front and back, enhancing visual appeal. Equipped with a cylindrical hairspring – a feature inherited from 18^th-century marine chronometers – the concentric geometry improves isochronism and reduces friction. A difficult component to produce, Moser can count on Precision Engineering AG, its sister company, to produce the cylindrical hairsprings that are shaped by hand.

Also visible on the caseback, beneath the brushed and skeletonised bridges, is Moser’s manual-winding HMC 909 calibre. Measuring 33mm x 9.6mm, the movement has 415 components, 35 jewels, a frequency of 21,600vph and delivers a robust 90-hour power reserve. The mainplate and bridges – or what is left of them – are decorated with signature Moser double stripes, and other components of the moment are finished by hand.

The watch is paired with a grey nubuck leather strap and a titanium pin buckle. The price for the impressive Endeavour Minute Repeater Cylindrical Tourbillon Skeleton is CHF 330,000 (excl. tax). More information at h-moser.com.