In the very early days of 2017 came the unveiling of an all new collection from Schaffhausen based, privately owned watch company H. Moser & Cie. Introducing one of watchmaking’s most beloved functions, the phases of the moon, the magnificent new Heritage Perpetual Moon is the first model in this classically-inspired collection, and its arrival adds further depth to the product line of this already impressive watch house.

The Heritage Perpetual Moon at first glance continues with the H. Moser codes of gracefully executed elegance, but very quickly the many subtle features which will come to define the collection become apparent, and in fact it is a very different piece indeed.

The case, in gleaming 18Kt white gold is quite unlike any other, as around its flanks decorative panels have been engraved and then accentuated with a gorgeous deep blue enamel, giving this piece a grandeur not commonly seen since the days of the gentleman’s hand made pocketwatch. Indeed, it is not hard to recognise that there are several thematic cues within the Heritage Perpetual Moon, which associate the new collection with traditional watchmaking standards. The crown is oversized and almost squat, with pronounced notching, and the soldered wire lugs are straight out of the earliest days of wristwatch design, before it was possible to manufacture the case and lugs as one piece.

The dial is created in white Grand Feu enamel possesses that deep and lustrous glazed effect, which can only be achieved using this age old technique. On its surfaces, the roman numerals, minutes track and Moser motif are hand painted as they would have been before the days of mass production, when each watch was attended to by hand throughout its manufacture.

The design of moon phase display however, infuses into this piece a deliberate touch of contemporary styling, as the blue globe replaces the classic moon caricature more commonly found for this endearing feature. The mechanics of the moonphase are accurate to 1,027 years, and it can be set to the minute via a pusher on the case side.

The swallow tail hands are long and graceful in flame-blued steel, and on close inspection there is another tiny pointer, and this is the am/pm indicator, which rotates once in every 24 hour cycle. 

Within beats Moser’s manufacture calibre HMC 801 manual winding perpetual moon phase movement, which is entirely created in house. Viewed through the sapphire caseback, the surface of the movement plates painstakingly hand decorated in Côte de Genève are revealed, with gold crest and detail. The rubies are bedded in mirror-polished chatons, and at its heart is Moser’s own regulating organ and balance with Straumann hairspring. Boasting two barrels for increased power capacity, the movement’s seven day power reserve is displayed here on the underside too.