H. Moser & Cie Perpetual 1

H. Moser & Cie Perpetual 1


by Matthew Boston

This year H. Moser & Cie have introduced a new version of the Moser Perpetual 1 featuring their fumé dial. You could be forgiven for thinking this watch is very simple, for it looks at first glance like many other dress watches. However don’t be fooled by its ingeniously simple facade because its actually very complicated containing one of the most complex mechanisms: the perpetual calender. This watch stands out because it contains such a complex mechanism but has a such a simple design belying this complexity.

H. Moser & Cie are quite a small Swiss company that you may not have heard of before. Originally having success in Russia the business ended there with the Russian Revolution so for the next sixty years all was quiet at H. Moser & Cie until 2006 saw the reintroduction of the brand at Basel, with an elegant range of dress watches. Just recently in 2012, Georges-Henri Meylan former director of Audemars Piguet became its majority shareholder.

H. Moser & Cie Perpetual 1

H. Moser & Cie Perpetual 1

H. Moser & Cie Perpetual 1 – Case and Dial

The H. Moser & Cie Perpetual 1 features a medium sized case at 41mm and 11.05 mm thick and comes in white, rose gold, or platinum and features graceful curves and is discreetly elegant.

The standout feature of the dial is its ingeniously simple design compared to many other perpetual calenders. A small center arrow and two large leaf-shaped hands adorn the attractively designed face. The 12 baton appliqué hour indexes cleverly not only represent the hours but also the months of the year helping to achieved the feat of simplify the reading of the complex perpetual calendar mechanism.

H. Moser & Cie Perpetual 1

H. Moser & Cie Perpetual 1

The month is indicated by a small hand with an arrow, mounted at the dials centre and the date is visible through the oversized window in the three o’clock position. Displayed on the movement side the leap year cycle is visible through the sapphire case back. At 9 o’clock is a power reserve indicator with a retrograde hand and there is an off-centre small seconds display at six o’clock.

The long and tapered leaf-shape hands with their faceting add to the sophistication of the watch. The result is a very elegant piece which is beautifully balanced with great readability.

H. Moser & Cie Perpetual 1 – Movement

The interesting aspect of the H. Moser & Cie Perpetual 1 is that its simple dial disguises the fact that this watch is driven by one of the most impressive perpetual calendar movements in the world. A perpetual calendar can display the date accurately every day without needing to be adjusted for the number of days in a month or leap years. The movement, calibre HMC 341 is in-house manufactured and is hand-wound and features a double barrel providing a seven-day power reserve.

H. Moser & Cie Perpetual 1 - Caseback

H. Moser & Cie Perpetual 1 – Caseback

The high-performance movement is fitted with the Double Pull Crown system enabling the date to be set easily without risk of altering the time setting. Kept wound up the H. Moser & Cie Perpetual 1 will show the correct time and date for decades without need of adjustment.

H. Moser & Cie Perpetual 1 - Movement

H. Moser & Cie Perpetual 1 – Movement

A nice feature is that at the date change occurs instantly, within a fraction of a second, jumping directly to the correct number.

H. Moser & Cie Perpetual 1 – Conclusion and Price

The H. Moser & Cie Perpetual 1 is a beautifully designed classical watch that features an impressively ingenious dial which has an exceptionally simple and elegant design that belies the complexity of the amazing perpetual calendar movement that powers it. Its no surprise that this watch won the coveted Golden Balance award for best watch in the $25,000 category and this new version with their fumé dial is a welcome addition.

H. Moser & Cie Perpetual 1 – Technical Specifications

  • Case : 40.8 mm diameter, 11.1 mm height
  • Movement: in-house hand-wound calibre HMC 341,
  • 34.0 mm diameter, 5.8 mm height
  • Frequency: 18,000 vib/h
  • Perpetual Flash Calendar display
  • Centre hand month indicator
  • Hour and date
  • Off-centre seconds dial
  • Power-reserve indicator
  • Hacking seconds
  • Double Pull Crown mechanism
  • Double barrel
  • Moser teeth for all wheels and pinions
  • Interchangeable Moser escapement
  • Original Straumann Hairspring® with stabilised Breguet overcoil
  • Pallet fork and escapement wheel made from gold
  • Movement and components hand-finished and decorated
  • Leap year cycle indicator visible on movement side
  • See-through sapphire crystal case-back
  • Hand-stitched alligator strap
  • Solid gold or platinum folding clasp with an engraved Moser logo

More resources about the H. Moser & Cie Perpetual 1 on the Official H. Moser Website, and Professional Watches.

    Author Bio

    Articles by Matthew Boston

    CONTRIBUTOR

    Matthew Boston has worked in the computer graphics industry for 17 years in various parts of the world, currently residing back home in the UK. His interest in watches was first piqued as a youngster when he was fascinated by a Seiko digital watch he received. He's also founder of UniqueWatchGuide which is dedicated to sharing the news about timepieces that are unusual, unconventional and more often than not unobtainable.