H. Moser’s New Streamliner Flyback Chronograph Has Been Unveiled with a Few Small Updates

As an object of pure fascination, there are few watch designs that come close to H. Moser’s Streamliner. I have been low key obsessed with it since the first Streamliner appeared in early, pre-pandemic 2020. That first chronograph was, at first, baffling to me. I found myself drawn to it even though I’m not really much of a chronograph guy, integrated bracelet sports watches aren’t my thing, and, at the time, I didn’t really appreciate Moser, either. At the end of the day, the Streamliner’s subversion of my own expectations of what a luxury integrated bracelet sports watch should be are what makes it successful. If you find the Royal Oak cold and clinical, the Streamliner is warm and organic by comparison. If the Nautilus is the choice of Patagonia-vested finance bros, the Streamliner gets the endorsement of sneakerheads. Even at its most opulent, it’s the kind of watch that makes me feel kind of giddy, as opposed to slack-jawed intimidation, which doesn’t always translate into a successful wearing experience in my opinion. In a landscape of integrated bracelet sports watches that all kind of feel like riffs on each other, the Streamliner still feels like a true original to me. 

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For those reasons, I’m always interested in new versions of the Streamliner. As a blank canvas, it’s capable of communicating all of the things Moser excels at, depending on how they decide to execute any particular reference. The latest Streamliner is an update to the original chronograph, literally the Streamliner Flyback Chronograph Automatic version 2.0, and like a proper V2, it doesn’t so much reinvent the original idea as it brings the aesthetic up to date with the Moser of 2023. The three years that have passed since that first chronograph have seen a handful of incremental design evolutions at Moser that have worked their way into other watches, and now the OG Streamliner gets its turn. 

The first update is the brand’s signature on the dial. In recent releases, Moser has increasingly opted to brandish their wordmark in a more subdued manner by using a transparent lacquer application as opposed to more traditional printing or applied methods. We’ve seen this a number of times: the Pioneer “Mega Cool” that I reviewed in 2021, and the Streamliner Center Seconds that we covered in April come immediately to mind. For a brand that has received a great deal of acclaim for their completely sterile “Concept” dials, hiding the logo to let the dial stand on its own seems completely logical, and the lacquer application is a genuinely cool effect in and of itself. The logo is essentially invisible at most angles and moste lighting conditions, but comes through crystal clear if you tilt the dial in just the right way. It’s part of a long tradition of watches with “secret signatures” that have been employed by brands like Cartier and Breguet, going back to the 19th century in the case of the latter. This new reference is in Moser’s popular “Funky Blue” fumé color, another first for the Streamliner collection. 

The other changes are somehow even more subtle than making the wordmark invisible, and can be seen in some enhancements to the movement finishing. The caliber here is still the excellent HMC 907 developed by Agenhor, which uses centrally mounted minute and second hands to track elapsed time. It’s a remarkably intuitive chronograph display, but it’s only possible via an incredibly complex mechanism, which now has anthracite gray rhodium plating on the bridges, an aesthetic touch that mirrors the finishing on the movement used in the Streamliner Perpetual Calendar. 

Other than those relatively small design tweaks, this watch still has the DNA of that original Steamliner Flyback Chronograph from three years ago. The case measures 42.3mm in diameter and 14.2mm tall, but more than almost any watch I can think of, the Streamliner is all about the bracelet. Thankfully, that remains unchanged, so it will still be impeccably finished and have a silky, wrist hugging drape that makes for a uniquely comfortable wearing experience.

The new version of the Streamliner Flyback Chronograph in Funky Blue fumé has a retail price of CHF 45,000. More information here.

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Zach is a native of New Hampshire, and he has been interested in watches since the age of 13, when he walked into Macy’s and bought a gaudy, quartz, two-tone Citizen chronograph with his hard earned Bar Mitzvah money. It was lost in a move years ago, but he continues to hunt for a similar piece on eBay. Zach loves a wide variety of watches, but leans toward classic designs and proportions that have stood the test of time. He is currently obsessed with Grand Seiko.
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