Northern California based Collective Horology has grown over the past several years to one of the most influential watch collecting communities in the world, developing exclusive limited edition partnerships with several high profile brands. For its latest partnership, Collective Horology has teamed with H. Moser & Cie, creating an exclusive and streamlined take on classic sports watch cues in H. Moser & Cie’s instantly recognizable design language. The H. Moser & Cie Pioneer Centre Seconds Rotating Bezel C.02 for Collective Horology is a distinctive and minimal take on the traveling sports watch theme, with a dramatic colorway and clean minimalist details.

The 42.8mm stainless steel case of the H. Moser & Cie Pioneer Centre Seconds Rotating Bezel C.02 for Collective Horology is something of an outlier for the brand, taking on much more of a conventional sports watch form than the majority of its stablemates. While the long tapering lugs and tall bidirectional bezel should be familiar to any watch enthusiast, H. Moser & Cie imbues each of these classical elements with its own character. The lugs feature a pronounced downward kink near their ends, likely helping this rather large case design to wrap around and appear more compact on the wrist, while the edge of the 12 hour bezel features a mix of coin edged and smooth surfaces. While the overall case is by no means bulky at 10.6mm thick (not including the domed sapphire crystal), the prominent case side cutouts with their pronounced striated texturing look in initial images to further break up the visual profile from the side, likely allowing the design to appear even slimmer. H. Moser & Cie includes a sapphire display caseback to showcase its movement work within, and with a screwdown crown the case has a 120 meter water resistance rating.

Like most releases from H. Moser & Cie, the dial of the Pioneer Centre Seconds Rotating Bezel C.02 for Collective Horology is undoubtedly where the watch carries its brand DNA closest to the surface. Visually, there’s more than a passing resemblance to the brand’s recent Streamliner Centre Seconds Matrix Green sports watch, with both watches sharing the same rounded, modernist take on a syringe handset. The shade of green used for this fumé dial is referred to by the brand as Collective Green – fitting, as in this writer’s eyes this deep acid green tone emerging from black calls to mind the terrifying technological Borg Collective of “Star Trek.” It’s a touch more verdant than the previous Matrix Green tone, with a darker and more pronounced fumé effect at the edges and a more industrial vertically brushed finish to replace the previous sunburst effect. The rest of the dial presentation is taken in H. Moser & Cie’s signature rounded minimal style, with no text outside of the dial signature and a softer, less angular take on applied pointed baton indices rendered in Globolight solid lume.

H. Moser & Cie powers the Pioneer Centre Seconds Rotating Bezel C.02 for Collective Horology with its in house HMC 200 automatic movement. Decoration is simple, but cleanly executed with broad Côtes de Genève across the nearly full bridges contrasted by tight perlage on the movement plates, along with a signed skeleton rotor. Thanks to a slightly slower beat rate of 21,600 bph, the HMC 200 achieves a robust 72 hours of power reserve.

H. Moser & Cie includes a pair of strap options with the Pioneer Centre Seconds Rotating Bezel C.02 for Collective Horology. The first of these is a stainless steel H-link bracelet, featuring wide central links and a cleanly sporty fully brushed finish. The second and more exotic option is a sandy brown leather strap made not from calf leather, but the hide of a kudu, a type of large East African antelope. This kudu leather strap features a range of tones from khaki tan to mahogany, and is fitted with a signed stainless steel deployant clasp.

While a far cry from the brand’s traditional wheelhouse, the H. Moser & Cie Pioneer Centre Seconds Rotating Bezel C.02 for Collective Horology presents a fascinating exploration of more traditional sports watch cues through H. Moser & Cie’s distinctive lens. While not strictly a limited edition, the H. Moser & Cie Pioneer Centre Seconds Rotating Bezel C.02 for Collective Horology is available exclusively to new and existing members of the Collective Horology group. Those interested in potential membership can visit Collective’s website for details. Pricing for this model stands at $15,900. To learn more about H. Moser & Cie, please visit the brand’s website.