Schaffhausen-based H. Moser & Cie. returns to a complication it once offered with the Pioneer Flying Hours, a new take on the wandering hours. The watch indicates the minutes on a central ring, while the hours seemingly jump from one window to the other. With this intriguing new display, the Flying Hours might just be being one of the most interesting jumping hours on the market. 

Initial thoughts

The Pioneer Flying Hours is not Moser’s first attempt at the wandering hours: the Endeavour Flying Hours was launched some seven years ago and an update on the historical complication. With new Pioneer, however, Moser manages to capture the mystique of both early wandering hours and mysterious clocks with its darting, wandering display.

It is a tidy and admittedly novel reinterpretation of the wandering hours, which will surely appeal to collectors. There is something poetic about the minutes scale moving continuously across shuttered apertures, its sweep much like a bridge between points in time, here represented spatially.

The combination of the sporty and large Pioneer case is also odd with the wandering hours, historically a complication associated with more formal, slim cases. At almost 43 mm, the case is large even for a sports watch.

And to nitpick: if there is anything objectionable from the get-go, that is the name. Strictly speaking, “Flying hours” describes a revolving platform that is only supported from below — like a flying tourbillon. Here the hour disks are stationary and, along with gear works, hidden under the dial, with only the minute scale visible on the dial.

The two models of the Pioneer Flying Hours are as different as they come. One version is in rose gold with blackened titanium inserts, while the other is dressed in steel. The rose gold version is paired with an aventurine dial, resulting in an interesting deep-space theme which actually fits the “mysterious” complication well. In comparison, the steel version feels a little bland and too industrial — which ironically underlines well the technical aspect of the complication. 

The revised complication

The wandering hours is the sort of pointless-yet-endearing complication that keeps mechanical watches interesting and appealing. The quirky time telling format first appeared clocks, then moved onto pocket watches, and in the modern day, wristwatches from established names like Audemars Piguet and even in creations by independents like F. P. Journe, proving its enduring charm.

The most interesting aspect of this Pioneer Flying Hours line lies in the implementation of the “flying” complication. In most wandering hours, a carousel rotates slowly around the dial, with the hours disk pointing to a minutes’ sector – the Audemars Piguet Starwheel is an example. As the hour passes, hidden star wheels and stationary fingers engage, slowly indexing the hours disk to the next position. The process is not instantaneous and is rather torque-intensive — meaning the timekeeping itself can be affected during this slow-ish change. 

With the Pioneer Flying Hours, Moser did away with this slow-moving revolving spectacle, choosing to conceal the hour disks and only display the current hour through dial apertures. Moser also found a way to make the change appear instantaneous, jumping from one hour to the next.

Interestingly, while one of the apertures displays the current hour, the other two are obscured by a shutter of sorts, which might be the trick to Moser’s “instant” hours change. While more details are not yet available, conceivably the hour disks change at the same slow pace as they did in the Endeavour model, while the shutter snaps instantly when the hour changes. As such, the shutter piece conceals the indexing of the hour disks and also leaves only the current hour visible.

As the central minutes’ sector sweeps the dial, making one full rotation every three hours, it reads the minutes against the “active” aperture showing the current hour. When the hour changes, the shutter snaps forward, the next aperture in the clockwise direction indicates the hour, becoming “active”, and the minutes sector now reads against it. 

Aventurine dial

The Pioneer Flying Hours makes its debut in two versions that are both well put together, although the fancy complication might be a little out of place in the sporty Pioneer case that’s rated to 120 m.

The sci-fi-inspired rose gold example is limited to only 100 pieces. It has a dial of aventurine, which is a glass product, in which metallic particles are artificially introduced. The result is a midnight speckled-sky look, which is unique to each piece.

Here the dark blueish hue works very well with the complication, adding another layer of mystique. Moser opted for a dark minutes sector, which almost blends into the aventurine glass base, save for the contrast colour printed minute scale. Each hour aperture has a gilded frame, making the piece both ethereal and unexpectedly legible. 

The steel version is decidedly more industrial, with its clean, off-white aesthetic and Moser’s trademark fumé dial. The steel case is simpler in construction compared to its rose gold counterpart, which is embellished with technical looking DLC titanium inserts. 

Solid movement

Powering the Flying Hours is Moser’s in-house automatic HMC 240. The movement is consistent with Moser’s recent philosophy, going for more modern looks across its caliber range. In terms of finishing, Moser doesn’t disappoint, with impeccable machine finishing applied over the anthracite-coloured bridges. 

The movement also reflects a subtle turn towards expanded production. While Moser’s earlier in-house calibres comprised of double barrel architectures and superlative regulating organs, now the tendency is towards more standardised construction.

The HMC 240 is a modular movement, with the wandering hours module piggybacked on the HMC 201 caliber. The 3 Hz movement stores 72 hours of power reserve on a single barrel via its bi-directional winding rotor. The caliber is heavily yet tastefully skeletonised, leaving most of the going train and escapement visible. 

The free-sprung balance is paired with a flat Straumann hairspring made by Precision Engineering. The presence of a full balance bridge is welcome, especially since this is conceived as a sports watch.

Key facts and price

H. Moser & Cie. Pioneer Flying Hours
Ref. 3240-0900
Ref. 3240-1200

Diameter: 42.8 mm
Height: 14.2 mm
Material: 5N red gold and titanium or steel
Crystal: Sapphire
Water resistance: 120 m

Movement: Cal. HMC 240
Functions: Jumping wandering hours, minutes
Frequency: 21,600 beats per hour (3 Hz)
Winding: Automatic
Power reserve: 72 hours

Strap: Rubber strap

Limited edition:  Red gold limited to 100 pieces
Availability: Now at H. Moser & Cie. retailers and online boutique
Price: CHF39,000 in red gold; CHF29,000 in steel

For more, visit h-moser.com.