Around the Pioneer Centre Seconds dial is an angled flange ring with applied orbs of Super-LumiNova. It is a slick and expensive looking detail, and helps the dial look its best. Note the conspicuous lack of “Swiss Made” on the dial. H. Moser & Cie uses this small omitted detail as a subtle protest of the ease of “Swiss Made” eligibility. H. Moser & Cie watches are made in Switzerland for sure, but they have elected to tell their own story about that rather than put a label on the dial. In any event, the decision to omit this information helps the dial look its best – with the only writing being the name of the brand.
H. Moser & Cie makes its own movements in-house, which includes balance springs (hairsprings). It’s a major reason this watch is priced where it is, related to the quality and decoration of the mechanical automatic movement inside of it. Let me also say that this movement isn’t what people might expect it to be, given many of the more classically-themed movements the brand makes. Rather, the in-house made caliber HMC 230 is a modern take on an automatic movement – only the brand kept the operating frequency at 3Hz. I really wanted this movement to be at least 4Hz so that it could better compare to other modern movements. In reality, the HMC 230 feels like the type of movement that the watch industry would have been making a lot more of if it weren’t for the quartz crisis. Larger in diameter than most of the classic time-only automatic movements, this caliber is meant to fit in watches sized for today’s tastes.
There is a pretty yet industrial theme to the look of the HMC 230 movement in the watch. The 21,600bph operating speed results in three days of power reserve, which I would say is the least amount a movement like this could get away with. I would have preferred at least five days. Also worth mentioning is that the automatic rotor winds the movement when spinning in either direction.
In a lot of ways, at this price H. Moser & Cie is competing with sport watches from brands like Blancpain – who happens to be among the most sophisticated movement makers still around. While Blancpain certainly isn’t as fashionable or trendy as a lot of recent H. Moser & Cie watches, Blancpain arguably wins when it comes to performance and specs alone.
In reality, the market for semi-dressy sport watches is vast, and in the $10,000 (and low five-figure) market, there are enormous options to choose from. What makes a consumer reach for one timepiece or another will be subtle, subjective taste differences between models. I can see a lot of people choosing to go with the Pioneer Centre seconds merely because of its aesthetics and combination of imaginative design and sheer conservatism.
H. Moser & Cie exists as one of the few remaining independent watchmakers able to produce functional, yet artistic movements in watches that are themselves functional and artistic. The brand’s products aren’t cheap, but for what you get, many other brands will gladly charge more.
What ultimately won me over about the Pioneer Centre Seconds watch was its ability to successfully combine the legible comfort of a traditional dial design, with a modern exterior that felt appropriate for my lifestyle. Sometimes I personally shy away from “suit and tie” brands because I’m not the type to wear a suit and tie very often. Here, H. Moser & Cie shows me that I can still enjoy the beautiful look their dials are known for in a watch that doesn’t look out of place with my own style. What I would ask for from H. Moser & Cie to make the Pioneer collection feel complete is a matching steel (or gold) bracelet. Price for the H. Moser & Cie Pioneer Centre Seconds watch reference 3200-1200 in steel is $11,900 USD. h-moser.com
Necessary Data
>Brand: H. Moser & Cie
>Model: Pioneer Centre Seconds reference 3200-1200
>Price: $11,900 USD
>Size: 42.8mm wide, 15mm thick
>Would reviewer personally wear it: Yes.
>Friend we’d recommend it to first: Casual watch lover with a soft spot for conservative sport watches and dial design. Anyone able to mix elegance into their active lifestyle.
>Best characteristic of watch: Case design and detailing are great. A large-sized classy dress watch is a hard thing to find. Movement is attractive in design.
>Worst characteristic of watch: Movement performance could be more impressive, at least on paper. Far too much glare coming from the crystal and dial. Overall design feels a bit incomplete without a matching bracelet.
