Wrist Check: The Moser Streamliner Flyback Chronograph Funky Blue 2.0
Cool, Clean Modern (Wrist) Art
Moser recently announced the latest update to its very successful Streamliner Flyback Chronograph Funky Blue, which offers the same basic design as the original but with some interesting tweaks to both the dial side and to the movement side of the watch. The case design, integrated bracelet, and basic technical features remain the same but when we saw the press images for the new 2.0 version, they seemed significant enough to make us very curious as to what the new watch might look like in the metal (a clumsy part of watch enthusiast vernacular but at least everyone knows what it means … or do they?) and on the wrist.
I’d never actually had a chance to handle one of these before, despite the watch being a staple of Moser’s collections since the 2020 launch of the original. Previous versions of the Streamliner Flyback Chronograph have featured a traditional haute horlogerie, Swiss high end finish on the movement, and the dial of the first version is a sort of grey fumé with an interesting vertical brushed pattern; the Funky Blue model has a (funky!) blue fumé dial. In both instances, the Moser & Cie. logo was present and correct on the dial. The Moser logo is a rather ornate italic script and somewhat at odds with the minimalist, Art-Deco/Streamliner Design character of the watch, but it was also small enough to be pretty unobtrusive and was certainly nothing approaching a deal-breaker.
Good, Better, Best
Still, the folks at Moser seem to have felt that there is always room for improvement, and while “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” is an admirable rule of thumb, “if it ain’t broke, why not improve on it if you can” is even more admirable, if you ask me. In that spirit, the Funky Blue 2.0 was released, with the logo still present, but in a nearly-invisible clear lacquer.
The Moser logo on the new 2.0 model is scarcely visible in the press images from Moser and in the metal, it is for all intents and purposes invisible under most lighting conditions – I had to fiddle with light a bit in order to find an angle that would actual show it. As we said, the previous model was just fine but with the logo rendered as it is in version 2.0, the stopwatch/racing feel of the watch comes across even stronger and there is an even greater sense of instrumentality, and the purity of line and design that characterizes the Streamliner design movement at its best.
The movement finish has been updated to include an anthracite finish on the movement plate and bridges, which adds depth and emphasizes the color range of different components, including the gold-colored chronograph driving wheel.
A Thoroughly Modern Movement
The caliber HMC 907 is one of several extant variants from different brands, of the Agenhor “Agengraphe” chronograph movement. The movement is automatic, but with a peripheral winding system which lets you have an unobstructed view of the movement – and there is lots to see. The idea behind the Agengraphe caliber, as conceived by complications specialist Jean-Marc Wiederrecht, was to improve on virtually every aspect of the standard chronograph movement, including the clutch system and return-to-zero system. The technical solutions are ingenious and complex and include a lateral, friction clutch assembly with a special safety system to keep the chronograph engaged if the watch receives a shock, and a cam and spring return to zero system that offers a softer return for the chronograph center seconds hand. In most chronographs the center seconds hand is as thin as possible, both to improve legibility and to reduce inertia on the system as the abrupt start and stop can actually cause the hand to shift on its pivot. This is generally not an issue for a modern or recently serviced chronograph, but loose chronograph seconds hands (and center seconds hands in general) are a not-uncommon issue in vintage watches.
The use of this return system means that there is a little more latitude in terms of the design of the chronograph hands in the Moser Streamliner FB Chrono 2.0. The watch is a central chronograph, with both the chronograph minute and seconds hands pivoting from the center of the dial. This reflects the organization of the movement components, which are arranged with the going train and automatic winding train more or less in a circle surrounding the chronograph switching and driving system. It also means that there are no sub-dials, which is indispensable to the clean, uncluttered design of the Streamliner Chronograph. The construction of the hour and minute, as well as the chronograph hands, is in two parts; there is a shorter metal element, overlaid with a luminous tip made from Super-LumiNova charged ceramic.
What all this means from a daily-wear standpoint, is that the chronograph operation is as smooth and pleasurable as anything you will get in a high end, hand-adjusted, traditional lateral clutch column wheel chronograph from any of the most prestigious Swiss or German brands. It’s one of those chronographs that will have you looking for things to time, just because the chronograph’s so much fun to use.
The integrated bracelet really impresses in person – it has a quality of almost organic articulation, and the critical transition between the case proper and the bracelet is handled beautifully, with a bevel at the lug echoing the polished transitions between each link.
With the new movement finish, and new dial design, the streamlined part of Streamliner really shines – although it still clearly has its antecedents in the design language of the early 20th century streamliner movement, it feels very much a contemporary watch as well.
Which One?
The question naturally arises as to which version of the three Moser has produced so far, is the one to get. The first two versions are sold out, so if you want one of them, pre-owned is the way to go, particularly for the first version with the vertically brushed fumé dial. Of course, if you are a Moser completist or just a fan of the Streamliner collection in general, each one of the three versions has its strong points. You might be inclined to think that the 2.0 version of the Funky Blue is simply an objectively better design but I think it is a little more complicated than that – the Moser logo is ornate, yes, but it is also graceful and gives the two versions of the Streamliner chronograph which use it in white, a certain early-20th-century air that connects very well to the birth of the Streamliner aesthetic, straddling as it did the worlds of both Art Nouveau and Art Deco.
What I can say, unequivocally, is that it is a very satisfying watch to wear. The overall feel on the wrist, thanks to the soft but definite curves and almost biomorphic design, is terrific and despite its size, it settles on the wrist very comfortably. And the design overall is just as successful as it was when the first version launched in 2020.
Chronographs can sometimes bring out the worst in watch designers. Aside from risk that you’ll produce something that, to paraphrase George Daniels, looks like a gas meter, there seems to be something about chronographs in general, particularly sports and utility chronographs, that makes designers almost unable to resist the temptation to add one more thing that the design does not need. To see a highly technically sophisticated chronograph that is not afraid of negative space, and which is really true to its underlying design philosophy, is a breath of fresh air.
The Moser Streamliner Chronograph Funky Blue 2.0: case, 42.3mm x 14.2mm, “bullhead” chronograph with center chronograph seconds and minutes hands. Steel with domed sapphire crystal, sapphire crystal caseback; water resistance 120 meters, with pushers sealed so that the chronograph functions can be used while submerged. “Funky blue” radially brushed blue fumé dial; hands tipped with Globolight (Super-LumiNova charged ceramic) inserts. Movement, flyback chronograph caliber HMC 907 based on the Agengraphe, 34.4mm x 7.3mm, running at 21,600 vph in 55 jewels. Tungsten peripheral winding masse; column-wheel controlled horizontal clutch with friction wheel and safety return system, “soft” return-to-zero system; 72 hour power reserve. Anthracite rhodium plating on bridges and plates.