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Given the acclaim for its perpetual calendar, the most legible and
ingenious on the market, H. Moser & Cie. wanted to explore this
complication further and add another calendar to its collection. In
collaboration with its partner, Agenhor SA, H. Moser & Cie.
developed the Endeavour Chinese Calendar Limited Edition,
produced in 100 pieces. This timepiece is a real technical feat,
combining the Chinese lunisolar calendar with the solar-only Gregorian
calendar and displaying the 12 signs of the Chinese zodiac alongside the
moon phases, all without requiring any corrections for 12 years. It
also symbolises the union of two different cultures and measurements,
and their harmonious coexistence. The timepiece unites the sun and moon,
combining elements of the solar and lunar calendars, calculated
separately, and synchronising them. It does so with an elegant and
minimalistic aesthetic that makes the piece user-friendly to read and
operate.
People have always felt the need to measure time and to become its
master. To this end, they have used heavenly bodies to determine cycles
and calendars based on the sun, moon or both. While the Gregorian
calendar is exclusively solar, the Chinese calendar is primarily lunar,
as it tracks the cycles of the moon, but takes the sun into account at
the same time, making it more complicated. This makes it a lunisolar
calendar. Rich in cultural and traditional symbolism, it has its roots
in the observation of nature thousands of years ago, and makes it
possible to follow the rhythm of the lunar solar terms and four seasons,
so essential to Chinese agriculture and traditional culture. It is a
complex and ancient system for calculating time. By gaining an
understanding of the Chinese calendar, one can travel through thousands
of years of Chinese history and appreciate its subtleties. With the Endeavour Chinese Calendar Limited Edition, H. Moser & Cie. is paying tribute to traditional Chinese culture.
The Endeavour Chinese Calendar Limited Edition is a true technical feat,
displaying the months and days of the Chinese calendar, the days of the
Gregorian calendar, the moon phases, and the signs of the zodiac that
are associated with each Chinese year. As the lunar calendar is based on
the cycles of the moon, Chinese months have 29 or 30 days, in keeping
with the phases of the moon, which takes 29.53 days to orbit the Earth.
There are 12 lunar months, which means that a lunar year lasts an
average of 354.36 days and, therefore, has 10.88 days fewer than a solar
year, which lasts 365.25 days. In a solely lunar calendar, the months
shift with respect to the seasons, each month starting around 11 days
earlier with every subsequent solar year. To avoid an excessive
discrepancy with the solar year, lunisolar calendars have a 13th
month every two to three years. These months are known as “embolismic”
and are added to keep the lunar years aligned with the four seasons. The
Endeavour Chinese Calendar Limited Edition also indicates this extra
month.
As there are no repeated cycles in the Chinese calendar, it is mechanically impossible to produce a Chinese perpetual calendar. H. Moser & Cie.
and Agenhor SA therefore undertook a major challenge in choosing to
make a timepiece that is able to precisely indicate all the lunisolar
calendar information for every 12 years without any corrections. While
the other Chinese calendars on the market require at least 70 manual
corrections over a duodecimal period, this is the first movement to
operate according to the same cycle without external intervention. This
feat is made possible by two cams that work in parallel and convey
information on the number and duration of Chinese months using feelers.
The Endeavour
Chinese Calendar Limited Edition will also take into account the number
of Chinese lunisolar months and their duration, the embolismic months,
the Chinese lunisolar year and the corresponding animal of the Chinese
zodiac, the moon phases, and the dates of the Gregorian calendar, for a
duration of 12 years. At the end of this cycle, the cams will very
simply be changed for the next 12-year period at the same time as the
watch is serviced.
Contrasting with the red gold of the Endeavour case, the Midnight Blue
fumé dial bears the H. Moser & Cie logo in transparent lacquer, like
a secret signature. It features crescent-shaped windows, one indicating
the Chinese lunisolar months, on the left-hand side, and the other
simultaneously displaying the Chinese lunisolar days and the moon phase
on the right-hand side. Two retrograde hands with rounded tips travel
along these windows and return to their starting points once they have
completed their course. At 12 o’clock, two windows show the Chinese
lunisolar year and the associated animal zodiac, as well as the
embolismic month number whenever there is a 13-month year. In a standard
12-month year, this corresponding window will stay black. An
off-centred small seconds display sits on top of the Gregorian calendar
window at 6 o’clock. Limited to 100 pieces, the Endeavour Chinese
Calendar Limited Edition model will be available from H. Moser & Cie.‘s partner network worldwide.
Based on H. Moser & Cie.‘s
HMC 200automatic in-house movement, the HMC 210calibre is combined
with a module developed by Agenhor SA. As Edouard Meylan, CEO of H.
Moser & Cie., explains: “This synergy between our two partner
companies gave rise to the Endeavour Chinese Calendar Limited Edition,
which conveys the complexity of the Chinese calendar and encapsulates it
in an elegant and refined watch that is easy to use, read and adjust.
With its minimalist and elegant aesthetics, it is a contemporary
westernised interpretation of the Chinese traditional culture, unlike
the other models of its kind available on the market, which are
extremely complex in functional display, difficult to read, and have a
very oriental design. I am convinced that this piece’s success will
transcend borders and cultures simply because it is a beautiful thing.”
Reference 1210-0400, 5N red gold model, Midnight Blue fumé dial, brown alligator strap, limitededitionof 100 pieces
Case 5N red gold Diameter: 40.0 mm Height: 13.0 mm Sapphire crystal and see-through case-back Crown adorned with an “M” Water-resistant to 12 ATM Dial Midnight Blue fumé with sunburst pattern H. Moser & Cie. logo in transparent lacquer Applique indices Leaf-shaped hour, minute and small seconds hands Round Chinese days and month hand Movement Automatic calibre HMC 210 Diameter: 32.0 mm or 14 1/4 lignes Height: 8.1 mm Frequency: 21,600 Vib/h 33 jewels Automatic bi-directional pawl winding system Solid 18K gold oscillating weight engraved with the H. Moser hallmark Power reserve: minimum of 3 days Original Straumann® hairspring Finish with Moser stripes Functions Hours and minutes Small seconds at 6 o’clock Indication of the Chinese years and the embolismic month at 12 o’clock Retrograde display of the Chinese months Retrograde display of the lunar days and moon phases Indication of the Gregorian date at 6 o’clock Bracelet Hand-stitched brown alligator leather 5N red gold folding clasp, engraved with the Moser logo
