H. Moser & Cie Venturer Tourbillon Dual Time

Besides the rebellious and independent brand Hautlence, George-Henri Meylan’s MELB Group is also owner of an interesting and creative manufacture with a very long history. Recognizable now for the ‘fumé dials‘, H. Moser & Cie also offers more interesting, but mainly technical, features. The Endeavour Perpetual Calendar Black Edition (that we will fully review soon) is the perfect example of what the brand is able to create: complicated watches with a simple, clean and elegant design. The new H. Moser & Cie Venturer Tourbillon Dual Time even goes a step further, by introducing for the first time in a Moser, the anti-gravity escapement.

Aesthetically speaking, the new H. Moser & Cie Venturer Tourbillon Dual Time uses the same design and case than the Venturer Small Second we’ve been reviewing recently. The case presents a simple and curved design, with a slightly larger diameter – 41.5mm vs 39mm. The sides of the case are elegantly profiled and adorned with a succession of polished and brushed parts. The dial takes its inspiration into Bauhaus design and reveals a nude and 1920s simplicity, emphasized by its cambered shape. The domed crystal and the lack of inscriptions on the dial (except the brand’s name) give a vintage inspired and clean look to the whole timepiece.

The H. Moser & Cie Venturer Tourbillon Dual Time is available in 3 editions:

• 18K red gold case with silver dial and red gold hands / applied indexes
• 18K red gold case with red-gold fumé dial and red gold hands / applied indexes
• 18K white gold with ardoise dial and white gold hands / applied indexes

The bottom portion of the dial is stepped lower and features chamfering between the two surfaces to highlight the two dial levels. In the middle sits the piece-de-resistance of this new timepiece, the one-minute tourbillon and its skeletonized bridge.

Inside the Venturer Tourbillon Dual Time ticks an in-house movement, the calibre HMC 802. Alongside the anti-gravity escapement (a first for H. Moser & Cie), it also comes with several of the usual Moser’s features. First, Moser decided to use the Straumann Double Hairspring, well known both for being highly complicated to adjust and for bringing a very high level of accuracy. In the context of a tourbillon, we can believe that the accuracy, within a day of worn, will be excellent – if finely adjust of course. Furthermore, the Venturer Tourbillon Dual Time includes the Moser Interchangeable Tourbillon Module, that facilitates servicing by removing the whole module. The module is assembled and regulated independently of the movement, with a simple “plug- and-play system”.

The H. Moser & Cie Venturer Tourbillon Dual Time also comes with a second time-zone function, indicated by a red hand in the middle of the dial and that can be hidden behind the usual hour hand when not used.

The Calibre HMC 802 is an self-winding movement that boast 3 days of power reserve and that beats at a classical 21.600vph (3hz). The finish is, as usual with H. Moser, very clean and warm (oversized jewels, polished bevelled angles of the bridges and plates, H. Moser stripes on the bridges and polished screws heads and slots).

Again a very interesting move from H. Moser with an apparently simple watch that is in fact highly complicated. It is priced at 74.000 Eur.

Specifications

• Movement: In-house automatic calibre HMC 802 – Diameter: 34.0 mm or 15 lignes, height: 6.5 mm – Frequency: 21,600 vibrations/hour – Automatic bi-directional pawl winding system – Solid 18-carat red-gold rotor engraved with H. Moser & Cie. company hallmark – Power reserve: minimum 3 days – Moser teeth for all wheels and pinions – Original Straumann Double Hairspring® – Minute tourbillon at 6 o’clock with skeletonised 18-carat gold bridges.
• Functions: Hour and minute – Second time zone that can be hidden when not in use.
• Case: 18-carat red or white gold, three-part – Diameter: 41.5 mm, height: 14.3 mm – Curved sapphire crystal and see-through sapphire crystal case back Screw-in crown adorned with an “M”
• Dials: Ardoise, red-gold fumé or argenté finish with a sunburst pattern – 18-carat red and white gold hands and appliqué indexes – Two-layer dial with unique finishing on each layer and chamfered and polished edges
• Strap: Hand-stitched brown or black alligator – Solid 18-carat red or white gold folding clasp, with engraved Moser logo.