DEEP DARK BEAUTY

H. Moser & Cie. combines its biggest hits of 2020 into a new Streamliner for 2022 and beyond

H. Moser & Cie. presents the Streamliner Tourbillon Vantablack, bringing together two of the watchmaker’s eyebrow-raising debuts of 2020 - the Streamliner collection and a Vantablack dial.

Building on the success of the all-steel versions, H. Moser & Cie. now presents its Streamliner in red gold for the first time. In another first for the collection, the streamlined aesthetic of the watch, an ode to minimalism, features technical complexities of two types. One is the flying tourbillon, a traditional Haute Horlogerie mechanism, and the other is Vantablack, a deep-black high-tech coating that has its origins in defence and aeronautics.

For this version of its Streamliner model, H. Moser & Cie. has chosen to adorn all its perfectly rounded curves –from its cushion-shaped case to its integrated bracelet with articulating links – in red gold. The meticulous vertical brushed finish alternating with flawless polishing complies with the high-end finishes for which the Streamliner collection has become renowned. The transitions between the different types of finishes are visibly flawless.

The deep black of the Vantablack dial contrasts dramatically with the red gold of the case, hands and indices. It appears as though the latter two are reddish-golden objects in suspension over a dark void, as though floating in space. The watchmaker has achieved a real technical feat in fixing these indices from the back so that, depending on the angle, they appear or disappear against the dark surface.

Vantablack is an innovative material created in 2012, which the manufacture has grown to love and has learned to master over the years. Reputed to be the darkest substance in existence, this super-black Vantablack coating is used in astrophysics, for telescopes, by the military as thermal camouflage or to increase the stealth level of certain equipment, or in civil contexts for solar panels.

It is composed of juxtaposed carbon nanostructures. When a photon hits Vantablack, this material absorbs 99.965% of the light. As our eyes need reflected light to perceive what we are looking at, Vantablack is perceived as the absence of matter. H. Moser & Cie. had to put a structure in place and develop special processes to successfully work with this material, which is protected once behind the sapphire crystal.

Seemingly floating in the middle of a black hole, the oneminute flying tourbillon positioned at six o’clock comes to life as the driving force behind this exceptional timepiece. The automatic HMC 804 calibre, equipped with a double hairspring, is designed and produced in-house by H. Moser & Cie’s sister company Precision Engineering AG.

Thanks to its pair of matched hairsprings, the movement of the point of gravity on each spring when it expands is corrected and the effect of friction reduced, significantly improving accuracy and isochronism.

Packed with state-of-the-art technology, the Streamliner Tourbillon Vantablack model is an understated powerhouse. It is H. Moser & Cie. unique take on Haute Horlogerie.