Moser x Vantablack

H. Moser & Cie  have announced a watch with the darkest dial humanly possible.  It’s coated with this “paint” called Vantablack.  Manufactured here.  It’s chemical substance made of vertically aligned carbon nanotube arrays and is the darkest artificial substance known, absorbing up to 99.965% of radiation in the visible spectrum. (Wiki entry)

You can find myriad pictures and some video reviews on Instagram.  It’s a pretty cool piece that I’d personally love to wear.  

Some Details: 

Reference 1801-1200, steel model, Vantablack® dial, black leather strap, limited edition of 50 pieces

Reference 1801-0400, 5N red gold model, midnight-blue fumé dial, brown alligator leather strap,
limited edition of 50 pieces

Case

Steel or 18-carat 5N red gold

Diameter: 42.0 mm, height: 12.9 mm

Sapphire crystal

Screw-in crown adorned with an “M”

Dial

Vantablack® or midnight-blue fumé with sunburst pattern

Leaf-shaped hour and minute hands

Centre seconds and AM/PM hands

Moon phase window

Movement

Hand-wound HMC 801 Manufacture calibre

Diameter: 34.0 mm or 15 lignes, height: 6.5 mm

Frequency: 18,000 Vib/h

28 jewels and screwed gold mounts

Power reserve: minimum 7-day with a double barrel

Bevelled ring and Moser teeth for all wheels and pinions

Interchangeable Moser escapement

Original Straumann® Hairspring

Traditional screw balance wheel with gold adjusting screws

Gold escapement wheel and pallet fork

Functions

Hours and minutes

Centre seconds hand and hacking seconds

AM/PM indicator – Hours 12 to 6 o’clock representing AM and 7 to 11 o’clock representing PM
Large moon-phase indicator display

Power reserve indicator on movement side

Moon-phase adjuster push-button on the case flank

ON A RELATED NOTE

Something similar is Anish Kapoor’s work Descent into Limbo (1992). Its a building with a hole inside that dosn’t allow for light to escape the hole.  It made news recently because a guy fell into it in August at Serralves Museum. (LINK)

Moser also announced a Red Gold reference with a Midnight blue fume dial.

But lets discuss Moser in general. That micro am/pm indicator hand.  The lack of dial branding.  The finishing…I could go on.