Moser Pioneer Centre Seconds: In Review

Now, in a new smaller case size!

Earlier this summer, we brought you word of a brand new Moser Pioneer Collection, known as Spiced Aqua. While those are lovely, bright pops of color, there is plenty to be said for a watch that can keep things a bit more reserved, allowing it to fly under the radar. That’s precisely what we’ve got with the Moser Pioneer Centre Seconds that we just spent a few days with.

Moser Pioneer Centre Seconds: what it is

This is the Pioneer design, delivered up in a more-compact 40mm steel case. It still has the same styling - including the polished bezel and the insets on the side of the case - it’s just all a bit more compact. Fortunately, when you’ve got a time-only watch, the shrinking real estate does not impact legibility. In fact, the wide, polished indices catch the light quite well, and it’s not a problem picking out the Super Luminova-filled hands against the dial.

The dial

The dial, that’s what brings many folks - we imagine - to consider a Moser design. Here, the fumé dial (which is a French word that means smoked; so you have a gradient in the coloration) is done in what the brand calls Arctic Blue. As blue is my favorite color, I was quite interested to see this one in person. It manages to be electric and striking, without it being too bright of a tone. Somehow, they struck a perfect balance here. And you get to see all of the dial, as well, since the logo is “ghosted” on, done in what we presume is a clear enamel applied onto the dial.

The movement

Inside the Moser Pioneer Centre Seconds is the HMC 200, a movement that is used broadly across their range. It runs at 21,600 BPH (or 3 Hz), which enables an up to 3-day (or 72-hour) power reserve. In terms of functionality, you can see it on the dial side - you get hours, minutes, and seconds. Through the exhibition caseback, you can see the decoration that they’ve applied to the movement, as well as their engraved rotor. In our time with the watch, we had no problems with accuracy or power reserve.

Wearing the watch

The first time I put the Moser Pioneer Centre Seconds on my wrist, it felt immediately comfortable. The case proportions fit my wrist (and preferences) quite well, and it had a nice heft to it. Additionally, the rubber strap conforms quite well to the wrist. If there was one drawback, it was that strap, however. Perhaps it was just our loaner, but the overall length was a bit short for my 7.25” wrist. I was able to buckle the strap (at about the 3rd hole in), but that meant the end of the strap really just hit the fixed keeper - the floating keeper wasn’t holding anything but air.

Even with that, however, things were firmly in place on my wrist. It was a lovely watch to wear, quite easy to read. When you think of a Moser (or at least when I do) I tend to think of it as a dressier piece. And sure, it can be. But here, done up in a steel case and on a rubber bracelet, it just felt like a more refined version of a steel sports watch. In other words, quite capable for everyday wear, no muss, no fuss.

Wrapping things up

If you couldn’t tell, while we only had a few days with the Moser Pioneer Centre Seconds, I came away quite favorably impressed with the watch. It does everything it needs to do, and hides away the capable design (and movement) in plain sight under that perfectly-executed blue dial. Want to get one? You can do just that for $15,500. Head on over to their site to get all the details, and possibly even reserve yours. h-moser.com

Moser Pioneer Centre Seconds Tech Specs

• Diametre: 40.0 mm

• Power reserve: 72 hours

• Water resistance: 12 ATM

• Case material: Steel

• Strap Material: Rubber

• Dial: Arctic Blue fumé

• Movement

  • The HMC 200 movement places emphasis on the basics of time – the hours, minutes and seconds. With an incorporated automatic winding system, the HMC 200 converts the movement of your wrist into energy.

• Functions

  • The centre seconds provides time in its purest form. Strikingly minimalistic, the central hand sweeps across the dial, reminding the wearer of the fleeting nature of time.

• Highlight

  • Bringing light to darkness, Super-LumiNova® is a photo-luminescent pigment used on different elements. After being charged by light, it emits a glow that makes the reading of time possible even when it’s pitch black.