H. Moser & Cie. Streamliner Tourbillon Vantablack Watch

I'm fascinated by Vantablack and all things related.

Now it appears in a watch.

From Barron's:

Since launching the Streamliner collection with a flyback chronograph in 2020, H. Moser has evolved the retro-futuristic range with various dial treatments, in addition to Centre Seconds and perpetual calendar models. But until now, all have been produced in steel.  

For its first non-steel Streamliner model, H. Moser & Cie. cast a captivating spell with the Limited-Edition Streamliner Tourbillon Vantablack (US$119,900) in radiant 5N red gold complemented with an intense Vantablack dial and an automatic flying tourbillon at 6 o’clock.

Venturing into noble red gold, the 40mm Streamliner refreshes its minimalistic modern sensibility, while preserving the rounded contours of its satin-finished, cushion-shaped case and the artfully integrated link bracelet. For contrast, the edge of the fixed bezel, crown, and frame around the open case back are mirror polished.

For a high-impact dial, Moser went with Vantablack, which is the brand name for an innovative class of super-black coatings reputed to be the darkest man made substance in existence. Composed of juxtaposed carbon nanostructures, the Vantablack material absorbs 99.965% of all light. The material has applications in astrophysics for telescopes and is used by the military as thermal camouflage, in addition to solar panels for the consumer market.

Working with Surrey NanoSystems in the U.K., H. Moser & Cie. has developed special processes to master the use of this delicate material for watch dials since 2019. Currently, H. Moser, which is renowned for its artful fumé dials, is the only watch brand to use Vantablack for dials. 

Earlier this year, Moser unveiled a unique concept piece that took the use of Vantablack to extremes. The Streamliner Blacker than Black (below)

went all in with the case, dial, and bracelet coated with Vantablack, so it all but disappeared when placed against a Vantablack backdrop, except for the hands floating in a virtual black hole.

One particular challenge of working with Vantablack is applying hour indices to the coated dial, since the carbon nanotubes disintegrate under pressure. The new tourbillon is the first Streamliner with full-size stick indices, thanks to a new technique that creates holes in the dial that are the exact size and shape of the indices, so they can be positioned from the back.

Since they are almost flush to the dial surface, the indices virtually disappear when viewing the watch from certain angles. A slightly domed sapphire crystal protects the delicate Vantablack dial, while the hour and minute hands glow in the dark thanks to Globolight inserts.

A sapphire crystal case back reveals the automatic HMC 804 calibre, equipped with a double hairspring, designed and produced in-house by Moser's sister company Precision Engineering AG. The duo of matched hairsprings significantly improves accuracy and isochronism for optimal timekeeping performance.

From the dial side, the movement's skeletonized bridges create the illusion that the spinning one-minute flying tourbillon mechanism is floating in deep space for eternity.

$119,900.