Cosmic Rain in the forecast.While most Swiss watchmakers are taking their summer holidays, H. Moser & Cie. has unveiled the Endeavour Minute Repeater Cylindrical Tourbillon Skeleton Cosmic Rain — the latest variant of the brand’s most complicated movement platform.
The Cosmic Rain takes its name from its dial, which features mother-of-pearl inlays on an aventurine glass dial base. Devoid of a brand logo or wordmark — a long-running Moser motif — the dial effectively evokes a night sky filled with streaking comets.
Initial thoughts
H. Moser & Cie. is probably best known for its minimalist designs, but the Cosmic Rain’s openworked construction reveals another side of the brand. So, too, does its raden dial, which is dressed up with shimmering strips of mother-of-pearl.
The Cosmic Rain is quite compact for such a complicated watch at 40 mm in diameter and 14.4 mm thick — barely larger than some time-only watches. These wrist-friendly dimensions, combined with a lightweight titanium case, should make for a comfortable wearing experience.
The calibre HMC 909 features an off-centre time display that reveals both the strike train and the tourbillon, which has been elevated — literally and figuratively — with a cylindrical hairspring. Unfortunately, the vestigial centre wheel pinion is unnecessarily exposed, revealing the calibre’s roots as a movement designed for central hour and minutes hands.
There’s a lot to like about the Cosmic Rain, but it’s hard to find justification for the CHF350,000 price tag, despite the pleasing dial. The strike train is mature, derived from a platform that’s been in production for nearly two decades, and the finishing is consistent with the brand’s mainline products, save for a few glorious hand-finished details like the polished hammers and gongs.
Radiant raden
The Cosmic Rain’s domed aventurine glass dial is small but mighty, and the gradient inlays of mother-of-pearl provide a dynamic, shimmering look that resembles shooting stars. Lumed hands for the hours and minutes loom above, delicately curved to match the camber of the dial.
This isn’t the first time Moser has used mother-of-pearl for a dial, but it is the first time the brand has used mother-of-pearl inlays, a technique more common among Japanese watchmakers like Credor that specialise in what are known as raden dials.
Familiar architecture, with a twist
With its small dial and skeletonised architecture, the Cosmic Rain is almost all movement. The HMC 909 was developed in collaboration with Manufacture Hautes Complications (MHC), a complications specialist that was acquired by Timeless a few years ago.
One of MHC’s calling cards is the wavy-spoked escape wheel, which is evocative of a topping tool. This detail can be found in watches from MHC (now Timeless) clients as diverse as Bell & Ross, Hermès, and even Dolce & Gabbana.
But Moser is not a typical Timeless client, since the brand has a sister company — Precision Engineering A.G. — capable of making hairsprings. As a result, the construction of the Cosmic Rain’s tourbillon is distinctly Moser, featuring an unusual cylindrical hairspring held in place by Moser’s signature stud holder, originally developed for the brand by Andreas Strehler.
Cylindrical hairsprings were originally conceived by John Arnold in 1776 to improve isochronism, but his friend Abraham-Louis Breguet realised the same effect could be achieved with a flat hairspring by bending the terminal curve up and over the coils. Needless to say, Breguet’s more compact design won the day and remains the format favoured by most watchmakers.
That said, watchmaking today is as much about the art as it is the science, and a cylindrical hairspring is a beautiful homage to innovators of the past.
The Cosmic Rain’s cal. HMC 909 differs from typical Timeless fare in another respect, which is the inverted construction of the chiming mechanism, revealed proudly at what would normally be about 10 o’clock.
The exposed hammers and dial-side gongs make for a lively display during the striking sequence, since the racks are visible from the front. This layout also gives the gongs plenty of room to resonate within the large dial chamber.
The movement is finished neatly but pragmatically, with wide diamond-cut bevels and a minimalist straight-grained finish on most surfaces. Unfortunately, since most of the action has been relocated to the dial, the back of the movement has been simplified.
Gone is the beautifully finished support for the centre wheel that graced prior Moser repeaters, replaced by a one-piece barrel bridge that subsumes much of the going train. Fortunately, the dial-side minute repeater hammers retain the black-polished finish they deserve.
Key facts and price
H. Moser & Cie. Endeavour Minute Repeater Cylindrical Tourbillon Skeleton Cosmic Rain
Ref. 1909-0501
Diameter: 40 mm
Height: 14.4 mm
Material: Titanium
Crystal: Sapphire
Water resistance: 30 m
Movement: HMC 909
Functions: Hours, minutes, minute repeater, and flying tourbillon regulator
Frequency: 21,600 beats per hour (3 Hz)
Winding: Automatic
Power reserve: 90 hours
Strap: Alligator leather with matching pin buckle
Limited edition: 20 pieces
Availability: At H. Moser & Cie. boutiques and retailers
Price: CHF350,000 before taxes
For more information, visit h-moser.com.
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