At the Watches & Wonders 2021 exhibition, H. Moser & Cie launched a pair of Endeavour Tourbillon Concept watches with dials made from tiger’s eye stone. Tiger’s eye is somewhat outdated (not easy to source), but for a brand like Moser, it is perfectly suited for creating such special pieces. I spent some time with the red gold model featuring a dark red tiger’s eye dial, though there is also a white gold version with a blue falcon’s eye dial. These watches, limited to 50 pieces each, are definitely aimed at a very specific type of buyer who appreciates and understands what Moser does.
A few weeks ago, I read another article about these watches, which repeatedly claimed that you can't tell the time on them, which is simply not true. Like other Moser watches with conceptual dials, there are no markers on the dial, but the hour and minute hands are present and readable. I own my own Moser watch with a conceptual dial, and I really can tell the time.
In any case, the Endeavour Tourbillon Concept Tiger’s Eye is yet another testament to Moser's craftsmanship in creating whimsical (and I mean this in the best sense) beautiful watch designs. I immediately recalled vintage gold watches from Piaget and Rolex with tiger’s eye dials, but it seems this stone fell out of fashion after the '80s and '90s. Recently, there have been watches using tiger’s eye, among which the Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso model released a few years ago comes to mind. Overall, however, there have not been many such stone dials, and I hope Moser starts a trend because I love them. Maybe a model without a tourbillon will appear in the future?
The microcrystalline quartz Tiger’s Eye has a fibrous finish that shimmers and shows differently with almost any movement or change in lighting. It is a kind of play with Moser’s “fumé” dials, which never look the same from different angles. I suspect that the blue Falcon’s Eye model will be more popular than the Ox’s Eye (“popular” considering the limited run of 50 pieces, each costing as much as a Land Cruiser), but there is something about the warm horizontal bands of various light and dark shades of red against the red gold case that really gives the Ox’s Eye a unique soul.
The one-minute flying tourbillon with a double balance spring of in-house production (a rather rare thing) at the “6 o'clock” position is as eye-catching as the dial, which together create a truly unique watch trinket. Perhaps a continuous dial (without the tourbillon) would be a more holistic showcase for the “Tiger’s Eye”? Sure, but I feel that the time and effort spent finding these stones are partly compensated by the price premium that the tourbillon provides. Besides, apart from the stone’s name, I assume that “Tiger’s Eye” subtly hints at the tourbillon.
Turning the watch over, you can see the HMC 804 movement, which is impressive even without the tourbillon. The tourbillon, like the rotor, features ceramic bearings, which have the advantage of not requiring lubrication (meaning increased time between services). Everywhere there is black polished finishing, along with Moser's signature double-crested stripes and an 18-carat red gold rotor. As these are among Moser’s most elite watches, you will also see a gold chaton secured by three screws right under the “Switzerland” inscription. The HMC 804 model operates at a frequency of 21,600 vph and has a minimum power reserve of 72 hours.
The Endeavour Tourbillon Concept Tiger’s Eye case is made of 18-carat red gold and measures 40 mm in width, 47.1 mm lug-to-lug, and 11.2 mm in thickness. These are dress watches, thoroughly permeated with 30 meters of water resistance, so try not to get them wet. If you have never held an Endeavour in your hands in metal, I highly recommend you do so. With fine crests and polished sections on the case strap contrasting with the matte case, the Endeavour has one of the most attractive cases for dress watches.
Thoughtful red stripes of the Ox’s Eye dial contrast beautifully with the red gold case. Everything makes sense and naturally blends with each other (though, of course, not without effort).
The H. Moser & Cie Endeavour Concept Tourbillon Tiger’s Eye model is released in a limited edition of 50 pieces in each of two dial options priced at $75,900. More information can be found at h-moser.com.
