Review: The Heritage Tourbillon From H. Moser & Cie

The Heritage Tourbillon From H. Moser & Cie is the centerpiece of the maison’s Heritage collection. Moser’s Heritage watches are in essence based on a design principle derived from historic H. Moser & Cie, watches, and pays tribute to exceptional craftsmanship, both in watchmaking and its related disciplines.

 

H. Moser Heritage Tourbillon

 

 

The case and dial

Cases in the Heritage collection are rounded with accents that complement the engraving and blue enamel on the case flanks. These decorations are a feature of Heritage collection models, having been worked on by the expert hands of master engravers, guilloché workers, stone-setters and enamellers.

 

 

The Heritage Tourbillon is composed of classic elements, seen by the notched crown and “Grand Feu” enamel on the dial, accentuated by the rounded Roman numerals and the flame-blued swallow tail hands.

 

 

The case is set in 18kt white gold and measures 42mm x 12.2mm. It features an engraved case covered by blue enamel on the case flanks.

 

 

Other pocket watch features are adopted, with details such as the fine lugs and a railroad minute track.

 

 

The movement

Behind the skeleton bridge of the minute tourbillon is the latest addition to the movements designed, developed and produced by H. Moser & Cie.; the HMC 804 automatic calibre. With a 3-day power reserve, the movement is driven by a gold oscillating weight that transfers the energy to the barrel using a bi-directional pawl winding system. Visible through the sapphire case-back, the oscillating weight is skeletonised to reveal the mechanism beneath.

 

 

The movement is equipped with a double flat hairspring designed and produced in-house. Thanks to this pair of matched hairsprings, the movement of the point of gravity on each spring when it expands is corrected, significantly improving accuracy and isochronism. In addition, the paired hairsprings also reduce the effect of friction normally experienced with a single hairspring.

 

 

Finally, the tourbillon’s unique design makes it an interchangeable module, assembled and regulated independently of the movement via a simple plug and play system which allows easy servicing. The result is a tourbillon better adapted to the needs of early 21st century users.

 

 

Concluding thoughts

The watch is a Moser masterpiece by any yardstick. It offers a unique case design with additional workmanship required to engrave and enamel the case flanks. The dial is finely made and has an observable thinness relative to enamel dials which is not easy to achieve. The larger size at 42 mm could be in part due to the wider movement, and is perhaps the only qualm potential buyers may have of the piece. For most watch lovers, an under 40 mm size for a classic watch is more the norm in today’s market.

Finishing wise, the movement and tourbillon cage/bridges are attractive, with the menu of bevelled edges, Geneve stripes etc. That said, it is apparent that more of the production cost was spent on developing a technically superior movement rather than a good-looking one. Possibly the most interesting thing about the Moser tourbillon is its double hairspring movement.

The watch retails at CHF 88,000, and competitively priced relative to other tourbillon timepieces in the market.