H. Moser & Cie: Streamliner Flyback Chronograph Automatic

H. Moser & Cie. is entering 2020 with the new Streamliner, the first integrated automatic chronograph with a central display to offer a flyback function. A new line, a new case, a new integrated bracelet, a new movement, a new dial, and new hands…

Over five years ago, H. Moser & Cie. started the development of an entirely new and unique product line. The initial idea was to design a steel case model with an integrated bracelet. The name of the collection, Streamliner, refers to the first high-speed trains from the Twenties and Thirties whose rounded and aerodynamic curves it evokes. Identity, minimalism is at the heart of the entire creation process, influencing everything from the aesthetic of the Streamliner to its movement and functions, as Edouard Meylan, CEO of H. Moser & Cie., explains:

“We started with the bracelet, comfortable, elegant and different. We then designed this model around the chronograph function, as this was what we really wanted to highlight. The Streamliner is a chronograph which displays the time rather than a watch which features a chronograph. We preferred understatement, ergonomics, and legibility, opting for a central display with no sub dial: perfectly matching our minimalist philosophy. We took the very essence of the chronograph, and raised it to the next level”.

The Streamliner Flyback Chronograph Automatic model is a form watch, with a steel cushion case 42.3 mm in diameter. With water resistance to 12 ATM, the chronograph function of the Streamliner Flyback Chronograph Automatic can be used underwater. Its off-centre crown at 5 o’clock, adorned with an “M”, balances the two chronograph push-buttons set at 10 and 2 o’clock. It is topped by a subtly domed Glassbox type sapphire crystal, echoed by the see-through case back. These lines extend to the integrated steel bracelet, which is elegantly curved to follow the shape of the wrist; the unique design of the links ensures that it sits perfectly on even the most slender of wrists. All the links are articulated and feature a gentle wave combining a vertical brushed finish with polished surfaces. The bezel has a sunray brushed finish; the case has alternating brushed and polished surfaces, with hollowed and satin-finished forms on the sides, in a nod to the typical shapes of Moser cases.

As far as the movement is concerned, the Streamliner is the first automatic chronograph with a central display to feature a flyback function for the minutes and seconds. Its chronograph calibre is considered by a number of watchmaking experts to be one of the best ever made. This new calibre was developed by AGENHOR with support from the teams at H. Moser & Cie. based on a philosophy very similar to the famous H. Moser & Cie. perpetual calendar, the cornerstone of the manufacture’s success. The design watch is extremely complex but the end result is simple, legible, and minimalist, with an emphasis on functionality and ergonomics thanks to the central display. In fact, by highlighting the chronograph function, AGENHOR has rewritten all of the rules at the heart of chronograph technology which have followed for over 200 years. With the aim of enabling the watch mechanism and the operation of the chronograph and its column wheel to be admired, the oscillating weight has been placed between the movement and the dial. Using the retrograde principle which allows the elapsed minute hand to jump instantly using the energy accumulated and then released by a snail cam, the calibre HMC 902 allows the values to be read with greater accuracy. Featuring two chronograph hands, one for the minutes and one for the seconds, and two time display hands, one for the hours and one for the minutes, the Streamliner Flyback Chronograph Automatic is nothing if not understated.

For the dial of the Streamliner Flyback Chronograph Automatic, H. Moser & Cie. has revisited the brand’s signature element, the fumé dial. Featuring a new anthracite shade of grey, the dial is not only fumé, it is also griffé. Around the circumference are two white and red minute tracks, the outer one measuring the seconds and the inner one counting the minutes. At midday, the 60 numeral dominates the dial, harking back to the stopwatches of the Sixties and Seventies, when legibility and functionality were key. Of course, for a chronograph, accuracy is everything: this is ensured by the choice of hands to measure the elapsed time, which have a thicker base and a fine tip, like those found on counters in cars or measuring instruments. Always with a focus on legibility, H. Moser & Cie. has opted for a red seconds hand, while the minute hand is rhodium-plated. To display the hours and minutes, H. Moser & Cie. has selected three-dimensional curved hands, with two sections. These have inserts containing Globolight, an innovative ceramic-based material which contains Super-LumiNova and has never before been used on hands.

The Streamliner Flyback Chronograph Automatic is limited to only 100 pieces and available at the price of € 38.000.