I have to confess that this watch was the hardest to return after the review. When I received the Endeavour Small Seconds red gold in blue fumé dial (Ref 1321-0401), I put it on my wrist and pictured myself in that famous ad, handing down the watch to my son, and saying “Enjoy the heck out of it now, and only then hand it to the next generation.”
I recently interviewed H. Moser & Cie CEO, Edouard Meylan, in Dubai. Edouard briefly explained how he came to H. Moser. Edouard’s father, Mr. Georges-Henri Meylan, the ex-CEO of Audemars Piguet, was looking to form a group of small companies that make unique watches. His first acquisition was Hautlence and second was H. Moser & Cie. Georges-Henri is now the chairman of MELB Holding and he has his entire family helping with the operations of both the brands.
The Endeavour Small Seconds was originally called the Mayu Small Seconds, but now it is streamlined under the Endeavour series (other two series are Venturer and recently announced Pioneer series). The first observation of this watch is the striking contrast between the warm red gold case and the bold blue fumé dial. This ying and yang contrary forces are actually very complimentary and are making this watch a modern classic.
My ideal case size is between 38mm to 40mm, unless the watch wears smaller. Endeavour Small Seconds comes in at perfect 38.8 mm case with a height of 9.3 mm, which is easy to tuck under the cuffs. The case is polished on the top and back, but it has a great contrast on the side with a brushed finish. There is a concealed cutout under the crown, which actually makes it very easy to wind and set time, both on and off the wrist.
The gradient blue fumé dial is a modern interpretation of the classic pocket watch dial with the off-center seconds and a simple layout. The applied number twelve again is in contrast with the slim, elegant hour markers.
The DNA of a H. Moser watch is to deceive us by making the dial appear so simple, but hiding behind that simple dial is a complex movement with brilliant technical features (innovations). The in-house calibre HMC 321 is a hand-wound movement with hacking seconds, power reserve indicator, and a pallet fork and escapement wheel made from hardened gold with functionally-optimized low friction surface.
The 3-day power reserve is discretely shown on the movement through the case back. It is a pleasure to observe the hand finishing and decorations on the movement under the loupe. I also tested the hacking seconds feature and it was spot on by stopping exactly when I pulled out the crown, and resumed after pushing-in the crown.
Finally the brown alligator strap is comfortable, but I really like the brushed gold buckle (and pin) to compliment the case and strap. The retail price of Moser Endeavour Small Seconds in red gold with blue fumé dial is $17,200 USD.
You can visit H. Moser & Cie website for additional information.
Photo credit: Scott Sitkiewitz (no shoes were harmed during this photoshoot)
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