Swiss manufacture H. Moser & Cie. refuses to dial down their color obsession, launching the audaciously named Pioneer Spiced Aqua collection that pushes haute horlogerie into uncharted chromatic territory.
Following their vibrant Concept Pop series earlier this year, Moser doubles down on eye-catching hues with three striking timepieces that blend orange and turquoise in combinations bold enough to make traditionalists reach for their smelling salts.
Spicy Water Line
The irreverent “Spiced Aqua” moniker—essentially meaning “spicy water”—perfectly captures Moser’s cheeky approach to serious watchmaking. This playful nomenclature references both the fiery orange and cool turquoise color palette and perhaps hints at the adventurous spirit required to take a £70,000 timepiece into actual water, though with 120 meters of water resistance, these Pioneers are genuinely built for aquatic adventures.
The collection’s flagship, the Pioneer Cylindrical Tourbillon Skeleton Spiced Aqua, showcases the brand’s signature skeletonized architecture with a vivid orange fumé dial positioned at 12 o’clock, complemented by turquoise Globolight hour markers that glow with otherworldly intensity. The see-through construction reveals the mesmerizing dance of the tourbillon mechanism, powered by the manufacture HMC 811 caliber with an impressive 74-hour power reserve.
The Pioneer Tourbillon Spiced Aqua maintains the same striking color combination but adopts a more restrained approach, eliminating the skeleton treatment and hour markers to showcase the rich, uninterrupted beauty of the orange fumé dial. This middle child of the collection runs on the HMC 805 movement featuring a double hairspring for enhanced precision and stability.
The collection’s most accessible entry point, the Pioneer Centre Seconds Spiced Aqua, flips the script entirely with a turquoise dial accented by orange Super-LumiNova hands and flange. Uniquely, this model offers buyers a choice between exposed stainless steel or black DLC coating, making it the most versatile piece in the trio.
Strategic Color Play
The timing of this release raises intriguing questions about Moser’s color strategy. These models bear striking resemblance to the coral Concept Pop pieces, featuring nearly identical hues with the same marker-free layout.
Whether this represents a response to potential coral import restrictions due to conservation concerns or simply capitalizes on the popularity of vibrant colorways remains speculative, but the market positioning suggests shrewd commercial awareness.
The three-watch collection spans an impressive price range, from the accessible Pioneer Centre Seconds at CHF 14,500 (approximately £13,100) to the haute horlogerie Pioneer Cylindrical Tourbillon Skeleton commanding CHF 79,000 (approximately £71,600). The mid-tier Pioneer Tourbillon sits comfortably at CHF 49,000 (approximately £44,400), offering tourbillon complications without the premium skeleton treatment.
Each timepiece comes fitted with coordinating rubber straps—turquoise for the tourbillon models and white for the Centre Seconds—emphasizing their sporting pretensions while maintaining the collection’s cohesive aesthetic identity. With 120 meters of water resistance across all models, these aren’t merely pretty faces but genuinely capable adventure companions that happen to make bold fashion statements.
