Google purity in watchmaking and you will encounter 265 thousand hits. There’s a reason why close to 300 years on, monochrome (but usually pristine white) enamel dials which first appeared on pocket watches at the turn of the 17th century have retained their popularity. The conception of smoked dials or ‘fumé’ dials however, are a more recent conception. Born of the 60s, its rise ran alongside the advent of rock & roll, accompanied by electric guitars decorated in radial bursts of colour which darkened towards its periphery, an aesthetic that audiences referred to as a “sunburst” effect.

On the dial of H. Moser & Cie Endeavour Centre Seconds Concept, the smoked or fumé achieves the same decorative effect albeit one with greater emotional impact. It has been five years since H. Moser, lovingly referred to with in short as “Moser”, released their first purely minimalist Concept watch with a fumé dial void of indices or logo. Indeed, the industrial Schaffhausen in the Greater Zurich area, might be at Switzerland’s heart but the German speaking region shares a certain minimalist German perspective: Bauhaus aesthetics, particularly the School’s emphasis on simplicity and the primacy of function (as evidenced in another Moser creation – The Perpetual One) over expressive form (which fumé is simple yet exquisitely expressive nonetheless).

Even as other brands dive into their 70s archives to retrieve their individual interpretations of the fumé dial, it is Moser’s sans logo that is instantly recognisable. The fumé dial has become the brand’s signature.

Driven by a desire to return to the essential, the Schaffhausen manufacture has redefined the notion of luxury with the Concept series by stripping away the superfluous and focusing on displaying time as pure emotional expression. Even as other brands dive into their 70s archives to retrieve their individual interpretations of the fumé dial, it is Moser’s sans logo that is instantly recognisable. The fumé dial has become the brand’s signature.

Given that ‘fumé’ is now virtually synonymous with H. Moser & Cie, the Schaffhausen manufacture is celebrating the fifth anniversary of this launch with three new models, available in different versions, all released as limited editions, and all fitted with a Concept fumé dial.

There’s no place to hide flaws – perfection is a dichotomy, either it has been achieved or it has not

Again, recalling the tangential nature of concepts like purity and watchmaking, it is not coincidence that many of the greatest watchmakers talk about “purity” in the context of their handicrafts. Purity is its own detail – whereas the ornate and intricate cut lines from engine turned guilloche might distract one from flaws however minute, with something as pure as a Moser Endeavour Centre Seconds Concept, the fumé dial is all there is. There’s no place to hide flaws – perfection is a dichotomy, either it has been achieved or it has not – and the viewer is either left with a distraction, a scratch left by a mistake or the perfection of an unblemished surface – it is a philosophical reflection of watchmaking and its own pursuit of technical and aesthetic excellence distilled into a H. Moser timepiece.

Emblematic of the essence of watchmaking, no indexes or logo, H. Moser & Cie. made the unprecedentedly minimal “Concept” aesthetic an integral part of the Endeavour collection’s identity and design language, placing the emphasis on craftsmanship and the beauty of its expertise. Nowadays, creating their fumé dials in bold colours, the Schaffhausen manufacture injects a smidge of modernity resulting in timepieces which are classic but never conventional.

In honour of the fifth anniversary of their Concept series, H. Moser & Cie. has produced three new models available in different versions equipped with 100% Swiss Made manufacture calibres decorated to the highest fine watchmaking standards. Available in 5N red gold, white gold or steel, in a three hand version or with a tourbillon movement, with the Endeavour case, the manufacture plays with different tones of its famous fumé dial: the famous Funky Blue and a colour previously unseen in the Endeavour family – aptly named Burgundy – are paired with the sublime brilliance of the diamonds adorning the bezel of the 38 mm model. H. Moser & Cie.’s own and unique take on watchmaking embraces purity not as buzzword but as exemplary expression of everything we have come to love of high horology.

Moser Endeavour Tourbillon Concept Price & Specs

Limited Edition 50 pieces in each material

Movement Automatic HMC 804 Manufacture calibre with 3 days power reserve
Case 40mm red gold, white gold or steel with 30 metres water resistance
Strap Leather
SGD98,800

Moser Endeavour Seconds Concept Price & Specs

Limited Edition 100 pieces in white and red gold. 50 pieces for steel.

Movement Automatic HMC 200 Manufacture calibre with 3 days power reserve
Case 40mm red gold, white gold or steel with 30 metres water resistance
Strap Leather
From SGD33,500

Moser Endeavour Seconds Diamond Concept Price & Specs

Limited Edition 100 pieces

Movement Automatic HMC 200 Manufacture calibre with 3 days power reserve
Case 40mm bezel set with 60 brilliant-cut diamonds in steel with 30 metres water resistance
Strap Leather
SGD24,200