One of my favorite Watches & Wonders experiences these past few years was the brief time I got to spend with the Moser Pioneer Cylindrical Tourbillon. All tourbillons are special, of course, but this one is especially unique and I found it to be genuinely kind of awe inspiring in person. As the name of the watch implies, the cylindrical hairspring wraps around the balance spindle vertically, giving what is already a fairly dramatic watch an even more profound sense of depth. It’s a particularly challenging watchmaking feat to pull off, but pays dividends, according to Moser, in reducing friction and improving isochronism, both of which play a role in a more stable rate through the duration of the movement’s power reserve.
In the last few weeks, Moser has been busy introducing two new versions of their most impressive tourbillon, this time as part of the Streamliner collection of watches, and in both cases in partnership with the BWT Alpine F1 Team. The watches take a similar aesthetic approach seen in the Pioneer Cylindrical Tourbillon, with a skeletonized dial that prominently highlights the flying tourbillon at 6:00, and a decentralized dial at the 12:00 position. The difference of course is that now we have this complication in a Streamliner case (and on a rubber strap) for a watch (a pair of watches, actually) that might just be the sportiest Moser has ever made.
Both versions of the watch use synthetic, translucent minerals for the small decentralized dials. For the standard Alpine Limited Edition, we get a synthetic spinel dial in the blue color that is most associated with the Alpine racing team, and for the brand new Pink Livery edition we get, you guessed it, pink accents that correspond to the Alpine livery used in the recently completed race in Miami (the dial is synthetic corundum). The translucent dials offer a better look at the movement beneath it, and play with the notion of mixing a very classical watchmaking idea like the cylindrical tourbillon (cylindrical hairsprings have their roots in 18th century marine chronometers) with a design that is ultra-contemporary in every way.
These watches are both bright, summery, and considerably more sporty than anything I can recall seeing from Moser in the past, which is fitting given that these watches are being made in partnership with an F1 team. When I first heard that Moser would be working with Alpine, I have to admit that I didn’t quite see it as a natural pairing. They just didn’t have a watch in their catalog that would really look at home on the wrists of F1 crew members, in my opinion. But adding some brightness to the Streamliner and putting it on a rubber strap really transforms it. The case is still stainless steel and measures 42.3mm in diameter (and 14mm tall with the crystal included), but without the bracelet it really gives a very different impression, and I imagine a different wearing experience as well.
The blue Streamliner Alpine Limited Edition retails for $89,000 and will be made in a run of 100 pieces. The Alpine Limited Edition Pink Livery retails for $98,000 and just 20 will be made. H. Moser
