Given the acclaim for its perpetual calendar, the most legible and ingenious on the market, H. Moser & Cie. wanted to explore this complication further and add another calendar to its collection. In collaboration with its partner, Agenhor SA, H. Moser & Cie. developed the Endeavour Chinese Calendar Limited Edition, produced in 100 pieces. This timepiece is a real technical feat, combining the Chinese lunisolar calendar with the solar-only Gregorian calendar and displaying the 12 signs of the Chinese zodiac alongside the moon phases, all without requiring any corrections for 12 years. It also symbolises the union of two different cultures and measurements, and their harmonious coexistence. The timepiece unites the sun and moon, combining elements of the solar and lunar calendars, calculated separately, and synchronising them. It does so with an elegant and minimalistic aesthetic that makes the piece user-friendly to read and operate.
People have always felt the need to measure time and to become its master. To this end, they have used heavenly bodies to determine cycles and calendars based on the sun, moon or both. While the Gregorian calendar is exclusively solar, the Chinese calendar is primarily lunar, as it tracks the cycles of the moon, but takes the sun into account at the same time, making it more complicated. This makes it a lunisolar calendar. Rich in cultural and traditional symbolism, it has its roots in the observation of nature thousands of years ago, and makes it possible to follow the rhythm of the lunar solar terms and four seasons, so essential to Chinese agriculture and traditional culture. It is a complex and ancient system for calculating time. By gaining an understanding of the Chinese calendar, one can travel through thousands of years of Chinese history and appreciate its subtleties. With the Endeavour Chinese Calendar Limited Edition, H. Moser & Cie. is paying tribute to traditional Chinese culture.
The Endeavour Chinese Calendar Limited Edition is a true technical feat, displaying the months and days of the Chinese calendar, the days of the Gregorian calendar, the moon phases, and the signs of the zodiac that are associated with each Chinese year. As the lunar calendar is based on the cycles of the moon, Chinese months have 29 or 30 days, in keeping with the phases of the moon, which takes 29.53 days to orbit the Earth. There are 12 lunar months, which means that a lunar year lasts an average of 354.36 days and, therefore, has 10.88 days fewer than a solar year, which lasts 365.25 days. In a solely lunar calendar, the months shift with respect to the seasons, each month starting around 11 days earlier with every subsequent solar year. To avoid an excessive discrepancy with the solar year, lunisolar calendars have a 13th month every two to three years. These months are known as “embolismic” and are added to keep the lunar years aligned with the four seasons. The Endeavour Chinese Calendar Limited Edition also indicates this extra month.
As there are no repeated cycles in the Chinese calendar, it is mechanically impossible to produce a Chinese perpetual calendar. H. Moser & Cie. and Agenhor SA therefore undertook a major challenge in choosing to make a timepiece that is able to precisely indicate all the lunisolar calendar information for every 12 years without any corrections. While the other Chinese calendars on the market require at least 70 manual corrections over a duodecimal period, this is the first movement to operate according to the same cycle without external intervention. This feat is made possible by two cams that work in parallel and convey information on the number and duration of Chinese months using feelers. The Endeavour Chinese Calendar Limited Edition will also take into account the number of Chinese lunisolar months and their duration, the embolismic months, the Chinese lunisolar year and the corresponding animal of the Chinese zodiac, the moon phases, and the dates of the Gregorian calendar, for a duration of 12 years. At the end of this cycle, the cams will very simply be changed for the next 12-year period at the same time as the watch is serviced.
Contrasting with the red gold of the Endeavour case, the Midnight Blue fumé dial bears the H. Moser & Cie logo in transparent lacquer, like a secret signature. It features crescent-shaped windows, one indicating the Chinese lunisolar months, on the left-hand side, and the other simultaneously displaying the Chinese lunisolar days and the moon phase on the right-hand side. Two retrograde hands with rounded tips travel along these windows and return to their starting points once they have completed their course. At 12 o’clock, two windows show the Chinese lunisolar year and the associated animal zodiac, as well as the embolismic month number whenever there is a 13-month year. In a standard 12-month year, this corresponding window will stay black. An off-centred small seconds display sits on top of the Gregorian calendar window at 6 o’clock. Limited to 100 pieces, the Endeavour Chinese Calendar Limited Edition model will be available from H. Moser & Cie.‘s partner network worldwide.
Based on H. Moser & Cie.‘s HMC 200 automatic in-house movement, the HMC 210 calibre is combined with a module developed by Agenhor SA. As Edouard Meylan, CEO of H. Moser & Cie., explains: “This synergy between our two partner companies gave rise to the Endeavour Chinese Calendar Limited Edition, which conveys the complexity of the Chinese calendar and encapsulates it in an elegant and refined watch that is easy to use, read and adjust. With its minimalist and elegant aesthetics, it is a contemporary westernised interpretation of the Chinese traditional culture, unlike the other models of its kind available on the market, which are extremely complex in functional display, difficult to read, and have a very oriental design. I am convinced that this piece’s success will transcend borders and cultures simply because it is a beautiful thing.”
H. Moser & Cie.’s own and unique take on Haute Horlogerie.
H. Moser & Cie. Endeavour Chinese Calendar Limited Edition Technical Specifications
Reference 1210-0400, 5N red gold model, Midnight Blue fumé dial, brown alligator strap, limited edition of 100 pieces
Functions
- Hours and minutes
- Small seconds at 6 o’clock
- Indication of the Chinese years and the embolismic month at 12 o’clock
- Retrograde display of the Chinese months
- Retrograde display of the lunar days and moon phases
- Indication of the Gregorian date at 6 o’clock
Movement
- HMC 210 automatic calibre
- Diameter: 32.0 mm or 14 1/4 lignes
- Height: 8.1 mm
- Frequency: 21,600 Vib/h
- 33 jewels
- Automatic bi-directional pawl winding system
- Solid 18K gold oscillating weight engraved with the H. Moser hallmark
- Power reserve: minimum of 3 days
- Original Straumann® hairspring
- Finish with Moser stripes
Case
- 5N red gold
- Diameter: 40.0 mm
- Height: 13.0 mm
- Sapphire crystal and see-through case-back
- Crown adorned with an “M”
Dial
- Midnight Blue fumé with sunburst pattern
- H. Moser & Cie. logo in transparent lacquer
- Applique indices
- Leaf-shaped hour, minute and small seconds hands
- Round Chinese days and month hand
Strap
- Hand-stitched brown alligator leather
- 5N red gold folding clasp, engraved with the Moser logo
H. MOSER & CIE.
H. Moser & Cie. was created by Heinrich Moser in 1828. Based in Neuhausen am Rheinfall, it currently employs more than 90 people, has developed 17 in-house calibres to date and produces around 3,000 watches per annum. Through its sister company Precision Engineering AG (PEAG), H. Moser & Cie. manufactures parts such as regulating organs and balance-springs, which are used for its own production as well as to supply its partner companies. Independent company incorporated into Moser Watch Holding in 2012, Precision Engineering AG specialises in watch components for escapements, from their initial design to the production of a quality product ready to be integrated into the watch movement it must regulate. H. Moser & Cie. is honoured to have a Moser family member with the company as Honorary Chairman and President of the Heinrich and Henri Moser Foundation. The aim of the Moser Foundation, created by one of Heinrich Moser’s descendants, is to keep the family history alive and seek out antique pieces for the Moser Museum, located in Charlottenfels Manor, Heinrich Moser’s family home. With its substantial watchmaking expertise and highly acclaimed experience in the sector, MELB Holding holds shares in H. Moser & Cie., Hautlence and Agenhor SA. MELB Holding is an independent family group, based in the heart of the legendary Vallée de Joux.