Introducing The H. Moser & Cie. Pioneer Retrograde Seconds 'Midnight Blue'

While the Streamliner has become H. Moser's quintessential sporty collection, the Pioneer remains another option that the brand can play around with to combine sportiness with weird, wild, or innovative complications. Whatever adjective you want to use to describe it, the new Pioneer Retrograde Seconds in Midnight Blue certainly fits the bill for Moser's outside-the-box thinking. The watch maintains the 120m of water resistance, allowing it to be functional and durable, but adds a whimsical complication.

On the dial side, Moser's logo is rendered in transparent lacquer on the Midnight Blue fumé dial, letting most of the attention fall to the retrograde mechanism at six o'clock. Every 30 seconds, the hand snaps back to its starting position, with a double snail cam allowing the 30-second display instead of the normal 60 seconds. For time-telling accuracy, a two-tone disc under the snail cam tells you whether the watch is in the cycle's first or second 30-second period. All of this is powered by the HMC 250 automatic winding movement. The movement is based on the HMC 201 basic caliber developed by H. Moser & Cie, but uses a module designed by its partner Agenhor SA (which H. Moser's holding company MELB took a stake in last year).

The watch measures 42.8 mm by 14.2mm thick (3.6mm of that thickness is from the domed sapphire crystal at the front). The dial is finished with faceted applique indices and leaf-shaped hour and minute hands filled with Super-LumiNova. You can get the watch with rubber, textile, or alligator leather strap or steel bracelet. The watch costs $21,900 (though the steel bracelets sell separately for $2,200).

I give credit to Moser for continually working to balance their lineup. In a world where they could just sell Streamliners one after another, they're always looking for something different to bring to the table in all their other collections. The Pioneer is probably their second strongest collection and more variety is never a bad thing.

Retrograde seconds is a weird complication. In fact, part of the challenge comes from accounting for the fact that the second hand theoretically takes more time to jump back to zero than it would to move forward by one second. My technical knowledge of the complication isn't perfect, but this is what Moser has to say: "The snail, which is in permanent contact with the sector or finger, releases the energy accumulated and stored by a hairspring located under the seconds hand axis, with a stud holder mounted on the mainplate. The rack, which is also visible under the retrograde seconds bridge, positions the hand precisely on its path and releases the accumulated energy all at once, while keeping the mechanism under control." To me that reads as an adjustment for the potential loss in accuracy.

Even the price feels pretty good for the complication. The only negative I can actually see here is the case size – 43mm by 14mm, give or take a few tenths on each dimension – which is a bit on the bigger side for my taste. The Pioneers feel very comfortable at 40mm, but with the technical limitations, I'm sure that size is the best we can get.

Brand: H. Moser & Cie.
Model: Pioneer Retrograde Seconds
Reference Number: 3250-1200

Diameter: 42.8mm
Thickness: 14.2mm
Case Material: Stainless steel
Dial Color: Midnight Blue fumé with sunburst pattern
Indexes: Applied
Lume: Leaf-shaped hour and minute hands filled with Super-LumiNova®
Water Resistance: 120m
Strap/Bracelet: Hand-stitched alligator leather, rubber, or textile strap or steel bracelet

Caliber: HMC 250 automatic caliber with 30-second retrograde module developed by Agenhor SA
Functions: Hours, minutes, 30-second retrograde module
Diameter: 32mm
Thickness: 6.5mm
Power Reserve: 72mm
Winding: Automatic
Frequency: 21,600 Vib/h
Jewels: 31 jewels
Additional Details: Original Straumann® hairspring, anthracite finish with Moser double stripes, partially skeletonized bridges

Price: $21,900
Availability: Now
Limited Edition: No

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