Playing on contrasts, H. Moser & Cie. has chosen innovative materials taken from the fields of aerospace and astrophysics to return to the essence of one of Haute Horlogerie's most complex and most traditional mechanisms. A Vantablack® dial without indexes or logos and with aluminium components allows the tourbillon to be admired, enhancing its beauty in a refined, ultra-modern and yet timeless way. The flying minute tourbillon, at 6 o'clock, literally seems to float in the centre of a black hole, with no reflections and no distracting indices or logos. And for good reason: H. Moser & Cie. has equipped the Endeavour Tourbillon Concept with a dial made of Vantablack®, putting all the expertise gained from working with this innovative material created in 2012 to good use. Vantablack®, a coating of deep black, known as the darkest substance in existence, is used in astrophysics for telescopes, in the military for thermal mimesis, to increase the invisibility level of certain equipment, or in civil engineering for applications such as solar panels and, most recently, a concept car. It consists of carbon nanotubes 10,000 times thinner than a human hair, lined up next to each other. When a photon hits Vantablack®, this material absorbs 99.965% of light. Because our eyes need reflected light to perceive what we are looking at, Vantablack® is perceived as an absence of matter, a black hole. Resistant to shocks and vibrations, Vantablack® is nevertheless an extremely delicate material to handle. H. Moser & Cie. had to create a special structure and develop special processes to be able to work successfully with this material. Special cases were designed to transport the dials from the supplier and special tools were created to handle them and mount the hands, right up to encasing them. Once protected by the sapphire crystal, the Vantablack® is as safe as in a safe. There it can express itself fully and seems to radiate all the power of its perfect blackness. With the Endeavour Tourbillon Concept Vantablack®, H. Moser & Cie. writes an ode to minimalism. A simple look contrasts with the complexity of the materials chosen and the MC 804 manufacture movement that powers this model. In addition to Vantablack®, the Schaffhausen-based manufacturer used aluminium taken from the aerospace industry for the tourbillon cage, including the cage wheel, balance bridge and escapement bridge. More rigid than conventional aluminium, this innovative material has the advantage of being lighter than brass. The result is a reduced inertia that offers a better energy balance as well as better performance, with optimal functioning and more stable isochronism over the long term. There is also an amplitude increase of about 10%. With its signature attention to detail, H. Moser & Cie. has added a black PVD coating to the tourbillon and balance bridge that echoes the abysmal black of the Vantablack® dial. A marvel of technology, this self-winding HMC 804 calibre movement is equipped with a double balance spring designed and manufactured in-house. Thanks to this matched pair of balance-springs, the movement of the point of gravity on each balance-spring during expansion is corrected and the effect of friction is reduced, significantly improving precision and isochronism in a constant quest for perfection.
DATA SHEET - ENDEAVOUR TOURBILLON CONCEPT VANTABLACK®
Reference 1804-0212, white gold model, Vantablack® dial, black alligator strap
Case
- 18-carat white gold, in three parts
- Diameter: 42 mm
- Thickness: 11.6 mm
- Transparent sapphire glass back
Dial
- Vantablack®
- Leaf-shaped hour and minute hands
Movement
- Manufacture Automatic Calibre HMC 804
- Diameter: 32 mm (14 1/4 lines)
- Thickness: 5.5 mm
- Frequency: 21,600 vibrations per hour
- Automatic bidirectional ratchet winding system
- 18-carat red gold oscillating weight engraved with the H. Moser & Cie logo
- Power reserve: minimum 3 days
- Original double spiral
- Tourbillon minute wheel at 6 o'clock with black PVD-coated skeleton bridges
- Tourbillon cage, cage wheel, balance bridge and escapement bridge in aluminium
Functions
- Hours and minutes
Strap
- Hand-sewn black alligator
- 18K white gold folding clasp with engraved Moser logo
