Endeavour Perpetual Calendar
H. Moser & Cie. Endeavour Perpetual Calendar for Only Watch
At every biennial Only Watch charity auction, among the ever-increasing number of one-off pieces generously offered by brands to raise funds, a few watches stand out not so much for their sheer uniqueness, but rather the message they carry. One such piece is H. Moser & Cie’s Endeavour Perpetual Calendar.
By Amr Sindi
Expert aka the Horophile
Newcomer to the Only Watch charity auction, H. Moser & Cie decided to donate a unique rendition of its most iconic and ingenious watches to date, the award-winning Endeavour Perpetual Calendar.
From the looks of it, you wouldn’t take the Endeavour Perpetual Calendar for anything more than a watch with a date function and power reserve. At H. Moser & Cie less is certainly more, and that’s exactly what they were going for with Endeavour Perpetual Calendar’s minimalist display. Instead of a dial cluttered with information that the wearer would rarely need, the complications are integrated in the most discreet way- including on the movement side. And that’s what makes the Endeavour Perpetual Calendar so special: the information is there when you need it, yet seemingly vanishes from sight when you don’t.
Set in the brand’s signature fumé gradient dial that darkens towards the edges, the month indicator is discretely located as a small pointer on the central axis of the hands, where each hour marker represents one of the 12 calendar months, while the big date display is uniquely conceived so that all the digits are on two superimposed date wheels instead of two separate wheels for each of the two digits that make up the date.
And that’s perhaps the most touching detail of the Endeavour Perpetual Calendar: instead of the traditional date prince, H. Moser & Cie asked its employees’ children to scribble down the different dates, and the result is a date indication with a heart. It truly reminds us of what the purpose of the Only Watch charity auction is all about.
Another more apparent unique feature is the red small seconds hand, which symbolizes strength and recalls the Monegasque colors of the association behind the charity auction.
This unique Endeavour Perpetual Calendar is housed in a black DLC-treated titanium case, which is something of a rarity for H. Moser yet perfectly captures its forward-thinking, neo-classical approach to fine watchmaking.
Adding to the sculpted silhouette of the case, the entire case back is curved to follow the contours of the wrist for a more ergonomic wearing experience. This includes the sapphire glass, which allows for a more intimate viewing angles of the in-house manufactured HMC 341 caliber, including the leap year indicator printed directly on the responsible wheel to keep the dial as pure as possible. The movement is decorated with exclusive Moser double stripes and featured screwed gold chatons as well as Moser’s proprietary modular escapement, entirely manufactured in the independent brand’s manufacture in Neuhausen, including the hairspring.
All in all H. Moser & Cie really hit a homerun with the Endeavour Perpetual Calendar “Only Watch” unique edition. It’s different enough in all the right but subtle ways, allowing it to remain a perfectly wearable piece.