Well, 'tis the season for luxury steel sports watches. After A. Lange & Söhne’s Odysseus and Greubel Forsey’s GMT Sport (ok, that was cased in titanium), here comes H. Moser & Cie with their first steel sports watch with an integrated bracelet - the Streamliner Flyback Chronograph Automatic - which also marks the beginning of a whole new product line for the indie brand.
This is no ordinary chronograph, instead we get an integrated automatic chronograph with a central display to offer a flyback function with a movement developed by Agenhor. The Streamliner also features a new case, a new integrated bracelet, a new dial, and new hands. The name of this collection is a nod to the Streamliner, the first high-speed trains from the 1920s and 30s whose rounded and aerodynamic curves the new timepiece hopes to evoke.
It uses a steel cushion case that has 42.3 mm diameter. Depth-rated to 120 meters, the chronograph function can be used underwater. While the crown, adorned with an “M" is placed at 4 o’ clock, the chronograph pushers are placed in a bullhead configuration at 10 and 2 o'clock. The case is topped by a subtly domed Glassbox type sapphire crystal, echoed by the see-through caseback.
The lines of the case extend to the integrated steel bracelet, which curves to follow the shape of the wrist. All the links are articulated and feature a gentle wave combining a vertical brushed finish with polished surfaces. It is secured by a folding clasp with three steel blades, engraved with the Moser logo. The bezel has a sunray brushed finish while the case has alternating brushed and polished surfaces with hollowed and satin-finished forms on the sides, a hat tip to the shapes of Moser cases.
The fumé dial is now a Moser signature but this one has vertically-brushed finish. The anthracite grey dial has a chequered minute track reminiscent of vintage racing chronographs, the outer one measuring the seconds and the inner one counting the minutes. A larger 60 numeral dominates the dial at the 12 o’clock position, harking back to the stopwatches of the Sixties and Seventies, when legibility and functionality were key. The syringe-shaped hands have a thicker base and a fine tip, like those found on counters in cars or measuring instruments.
While the red seconds hand pops on the grey background, the minute hand is rhodium-plated. The hours and minutes are indicated by three-dimensional curved hands, with two sections. These have inserts containing Globolight, an innovative ceramic-based material which contains Super-LumiNova and has never before been used on hands. The chronograph uses two hands that move around the same axis - one for the seconds and the other for elapsed minutes. The elapsed minute hands of the chronograph jumps instantly using the energy accumulated and then released by a snail cam.
As mentioned earlier, the HMC 902 chronograph caliber was developed by movement specialists Agenhor. It’s no surprise that the movement is reminiscent of the one they developed for Singer Reimagined’s Track 1 chronograph. This is the first automatic chronograph with a central display to feature a flyback function for the minutes and seconds. The oscillating weight is tucked between the movement and the dial to allow us uninterrupted views of the beautifully finished movement, column wheel and all. The movement has 434 components and has a power reserve of 54 hours.
This watch is limited to just 100 pieces and is priced at just under $40,000.
