Moser & Cie. aren’t afraid to be experimental. While their bread and butter are watches like the Pioneer and Streamliner they’ve always had little side projects here and there that explore different concepts and ideas such as the Swiss Alp, Perpetual Calendar for Dummies and Genesis. Three years after its launch, the Genesis is being expanded into a trilogy with the launch of its first follow up model, the H. Moser & Cie Streamliner Genesis 2.
To be completely honest with you, I had assumed that the Genesis was a dead and abandoned concept. At its launch it was a super controversial watch because it’s so unlike anything else Moser have done. It features a divisive pixelated design that creates the image of QR Code, which when used takes you to a digital platform where you can view the associated NFT images. Yes, NFTs. It is very much a watch of its time and that time was 2022. It’s almost surprising how quickly the world has moved on from its period of Blockchain obsession to focus again on the tangible and real.
And that’s actually what H. Moser wanted to represent with the Genesis 2, that shift back towards the real. And by doing so the collection becomes not just a strange novelty but a trilogy of watches that explore the prevailing themes of human society and communication. At least that’s the theory behind the watch. How that translates into the watch itself is another matter.
Starting with the case, it’s actually a fairly standard take on the Streamliner with a 40mm cushion case design in steel with an integrated bracelet. The main feature that makes it stand out is the pixellated titanium crown that ties it into the original Genesis model. The choice of steel makes sense thematically as it’s a tough and durable metal that highlights the physicality of the watch.
For the dial, they’ve stripped away all of the scales and markers to leave just the hour and minute hand floating above a Vantablack void. Vantablack is a famous coating that absorbs 99.965% of light, making it one of the purest blacks that humans are able to produce. On a conceptual level I think there is a little bit of dissonance here by having a watch that is supposed to represent the tactile having a void for a dial.
However, if you take a step further out and consider the science of Vantablack, that absorption of light, it’s taking something intangible in the form of light and trapping it in a physical object – and what could possibly be more thematically appropriate than that? It also just looks cool and that’s also an important consideration in watch design even if designers don’t like to say it.
Below the Vantablack dial is the HMC 203 automatic calibre, which you can view through the exhibition caseback. It has a 3-day power reserve provided by a skeletonised rose gold rotor, which has a nice contrast to the rest of the anthracite finishing of the movement.
The Streamliner Genesis 2 is a limited edition of 100 pieces however it’s only available to purchase via invitation. Specifically it will be offered to the 50 owners of the original Genesis who will then be able to extend that invite to one other person, be they friend or family, adding up to the 100 pieces. By doing so Moser aim to keep it as a collectors’ item and develop the story and concept of the watch as a trilogy rather than an individual release. Regarding next year’s third piece, H. Moser’s only hint is that it is a ‘synthesis of two worlds’ implying that the digital realm of the first Genesis and physical world of the second are going to collide in some fashion.
Price and Specs:
More details at H. Moser & Cie.
