On 2 November 2026, H. Moser & Cie. unveiled two distinct additions to its Heritage collection. The Heritage Chronograph White fumé and the Heritage Centre Seconds Espresso fumé demonstrate how the brand reinterprets its archives in a very “Moser way”.
H. Moser & Cie. has maintained a unique relationship with its past, treating history as a partner with an opinion at the workshop desk as opposed to a grumpy museum guard. This stems perhaps from the fact that 128 years separated the end of the Heinrich Moser era in 1874 from the re-establishment of Moser Schaffhausen AG in 2002. As I think deeper, it is not that obvious. The influential Swiss industrialist from Schaffhausen who founded the watch company in 1828 in the Russian St. Petersburg has left quite a remarkable mark on the German-speaking Swiss region. Beyond timepieces, long-standing objects of everyday life (such as the dam on the Rhein that operated for close to a century between 1866 and 1960, or the Rheinfall Railway that linked the city to Winterthur) elevated Schaffhausen from poverty and shaped the city map substantially. He co-founded the Schweizerische Waggonfabrik (later renamed SIG – Schweizerische Industrie Gesellschaft, owned by Alstom since 2000), and his strong spirit has been rattling across the entire Swiss railway and tramway network ever since.
A legacy like this could easily oppress any initiative bearing the Moser name, especially with the late Roger Nicholas Balsiger, Heinrich’s great-grandson, contributing to the revival. Instead, the 2005 Moser Perpetual 1 introduced what has since become the signature minimalist perpetual calendar display. The next year it won the GPHG Complicated Watch Prize and showed that this is a fresh start and that Heinrich has a vote, not a veto, at the decision table. This has become even more profound since the Meylan family took over the company in 2012.
While the brand is often celebrated for its signature design elements, like the fumé dials, the great shape of the Streamliner and the no-logo or barely-visible logo approach, the Heritage collection focuses on transitioning historical style details, such as the pocket-watch-inspired case, into modern watchmaking.
The Heritage line was first introduced in 2018 with an exclusive watch created for Bucherer, the Heritage Bucherer Blue Editions. Since then it has been extended with other models, including the Heritage Bronze “Since 1828” Limited Edition, launched at Dubai Watch Week in 2021.
This autumn we got up close and personal with two novelties of the collection, the Heritage Chronograph White fumé and the Heritage Centre Seconds Espresso fumé.
Heritage Chronograph White fumé
The Heritage Chronograph White fumé captures the spirit of mid-20th-century design, finding inspiration in historic Moser chronographs from the 1940s. A watch with the same movement but a distinct style was the limited-edition Endeavour Chronograph Compax created in 2024 in collaboration with Massena LAB.
Encased in a 42 mm diameter steel case with a decent 13.8 mm thickness, the novelty features a white fumé dial with a sunburst pattern and the historic 1947 iteration of the Moser logo. The design prioritizes legibility, and white is paired with blue accents on the chronograph indications, the tachymeter scale and the sub-dials at 3 and 9 o’clock. Driving the instrument is the HMC 220 automatic calibre incorporating a Dubois Dépraz chronograph module. The power reserve offers continuous and precise running of at least three days. The 100-piece model rests on a grey kudu leather strap.
Heritage Centre Seconds Espresso fumé
The Heritage Centre Seconds Espresso fumé leans into the architectural elegance of pocket watches converted for the wrist with slim, tapered lugs. The steel case is also 42 mm in diameter, however, with its 11.1 mm it is much thinner and sits very comfortably on the wrist. The HMC 200 manufacture automatic workhorse movement is visible through the sapphire case-back.
The Espresso fumé gradient dial is outlined by a white railway minute track. The above-mentioned “barely-visible logo” principle manifests in a subtle transparent-lacquer H. Moser & Cie emblem. Instead of the traditional applied indices, the model utilizes oversized block numerals made from Globolight®, a ceramic-based material infused with Super-LumiNova®. The sword-shaped hands are equally filled with the luminescent compound. This model, limited to 200 pieces, is paired with a raw kudu leather strap featuring white stitching.
Both timepieces share the brand’s famous “fumé” gradient that fades from the centre to the edge. Materials like the luminous ceramic blocks and the high-tech mechanical components integrate modernity with the classical case and notched crown, which serve as a nod to the tools of the past.
Photo credits: Loupiosity.com
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