The Moser Pioneer Retrograde Seconds ‘Midnight Blue’

Retrograde complications are one of the many ways in which watchmakers explore different ways of displaying the time, and you can make just about any indication on a dial a retrograde indication. A retrograde indication is any one in which, instead of moving in a circle, a hand sweeps across a sector on the dial and then jumps back to the beginning of the sector at the end of a certain period of time. Retrograde minutes can be seen in Gerald Genta’s Disney character watches, both vintage and current production and a number of brands use retrograde seconds hands (Breguet is one example) to add some extra dynamism to the dial.

Basically, any cyclical time period, from the seconds to minutes, hours, and even date and day of the week (as in the Roger Dubuis Bi-Retrograde Perpetual Calendar)  can be set up as a retrograde indication, but in the Pioneer Retrograde Seconds Midnight Blue, Moser has chosen to keep things simple and clean, with a very large retrograde seconds display taking center stage on the dial. For the Pioneer Retrograde Seconds, Moser’s created a 30 second retrograde complication.

In general, Moser watches are exercises in aesthetic economy of means, with the most well known examples from their perpetual calendar collections, which are barely recognizable as perpetuals. However, these aren’t the only examples – the various Streamliner models are also very cleanly executed, and many of Moser’s more recent models go so far as to make the company’s logo virtually invisible, in the interests of keeping the dial as uncluttered as possible.

The mechanism is fairly straightforward, although as in many things in watchmaking, it has to be executed with precision in order to function properly. In a retrograde seconds complication, it’s critical that the seconds hand jump back to the zero position virtually instantaneously. Above you can see how the complication works. The seconds hand pivot is mounted on a spiral spring, which tightens as the retrograde seconds hand sweeps across its sector. The seconds hand pivot is geared to a rack, which pivots in the jewel at the center of the retrograde seconds bridge, and which has a nose that rides on the edge of a cam which rotates once per minute. As the cam rotates, the nose of the rack rides higher and higher on the edge of the cam, until finally, at the moment the 30 second mark is reached, the nose of the rack drops onto the lowest step of the cam, causing the rack to flick the seconds hand back to zero.

If you look closely, you’ll notice that the nose of the rack, as well as the vertical faces of the cam, are slightly curved; this allows the nose of the rotating rack to fall smoothly towards the center of the cam, without any risk of the nose binding on the vertical face. The retrograde seconds module was developed for Moser by Agenhor SA, a complications specialist founded by Jean-Marc Wiederrecht, who is one of the world’s best known movement constructors. Agenhor’s probably most famous for its advanced Agengraphe chronograph caliber, which Moser uses in its Streamliner chronographs.

The movement is Moser’s selfwinding caliber  HMC 250, 32.0mm 6.5mm, winding in both directions, with Straumann flat balance spring, and a freesprung, adjustable mass balance. The movement is partially openworked, with an openworked automatic winding weight and two openworked movement bridges, with anthracite finishing. To the extent that Moser shows anything like a baroque side, it’s generally in their openworked models, two examples of which are the Streamliner Flying Tourbillon Skeleton, and the Pioneer Cylindrical Tourbillon Flying Skeleton, although both of those use fully skeletonized movements.

This is a well designed example of a complication which could have come across as perfunctory, but which thanks to the careful balance of its various design elements, as well as the elegant implementation of the complication, gives a real freshness to the retrograde seconds display – a fine example of emphasizing the mechanical fascination of the watch, and in a way that makes how the complication works instantly understandable.

The 1916 Company is an authorized retailer for H. Moser & Cie at our Philadelphia and Ardmore Govberg locations. View our new and pre-owned Moser collections at The1916Company.com.