Tiếng ViệtThere are perpetual calendars — and then there’s a perpetual calendar by H. Moser & Cie. 🙂
Just a month ago, we wrote about the wonderfully eccentric Endeavour Concept Lime Green, a watch we described with genuine admiration (and perhaps a little emotional bias). And now, once again, Moser makes us ask ourselves:
“Is there anything these people can’t think of?”
Moser’s brand of madness isn’t about wild complications or over-the-top innovation. It’s about small, deliberate changes that make connoisseurs stop in their tracks. This time, it’s the brand’s iconic Endeavour Perpetual Calendar—now reimagined in tantalum with a grand feu blue enamel dial.
Tantalum: The Rare Metal that Defines Obsession
Tantalum isn’t a material most people were familiar with—at least not until F.P. Journe’s Chronomètre Bleu created a sensation and brought this exotic metal into the mainstream of collecting.
Discovered in the early 19th century and occasionally used by brands such as Audemars Piguet (notably in certain Royal Oak models from the 1990s), tantalum remains an outlier in watchmaking. Even today, tantalum watches are exceedingly rare, a true drop in the ocean compared to stainless steel, gold, titanium, or platinum.
According to CEO Edouard Meylan, choosing tantalum was a technical and philosophical challenge for Moser. The brand wanted to prove that as an independent high-end manufacturer, it could master one of the most demanding metals to machine and finish.
Case and Craftsmanship
The result: a 42 mm tantalum case, flawlessly executed. The caseback, interestingly, is made from stainless steel—a practical choice to prevent possible skin reactions from direct contact with tantalum.
As always with Moser, the finishing is immaculate: polished and brushed surfaces play beautifully with light, and the case edges are carefully chamfered to accentuate the sculptural profile.
Dial: A Study in Minimalist Perfection
The second feature guaranteed to turn heads is the blue enamel dial—a true work of art. The same complex layering and firing techniques used on the Lime Green version are applied here, but in a deep, lustrous blue that radiates serenity.
In pure Moser style, the dial is stripped of all unnecessary text:
- No logo, no “Swiss Made” inscription.
- Two hour markers only—at 6 and 12 o’clock.
- A black date window with crisp white numerals.
- A small seconds hand without a recessed subdial.
- A power-reserve indicator discreetly positioned at 9 o’clock.
It’s understatement elevated to art form—the Moser aesthetic distilled.
Movement: The HMC 800
Inside beats Moser’s in-house HMC 800, one of the most elegant and intuitive perpetual calendar calibers in modern watchmaking.
This hand-wound movement features dual barrels for a 7-day power reserve (in practice, over 8 days, though Moser conservatively quotes 7 for accuracy).
Finishing is traditionally Swiss, with hand-polished bevels, Moser stripes, and a 14K gold escapement. The movement also features a leap year indicator via a small wheel and lever visible through the back—mechanical poetry in motion.
Price and Final Thoughts
The H. Moser & Cie. Endeavour Perpetual Calendar Tantalum Blue Enamel is priced at CHF 75,000 (tax included)—not exactly an easy entry point, even among perpetual calendars.
Yet, considering its material rarity, technical sophistication, and aesthetic restraint, we’d argue it’s worth every franc.
Learn more at: H. Moser & Cie. Official Website