SDC Weekly 158; Fit is the new Rolex; AI Marketing Gap; Community Watch Review
Fitness became America's status symbol, then got counterfeited. Why AI recommends Christopher Ward over TAG. Two years with an H. Moser Pioneer, warts and all. Making a watch from scratch, and more!
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In case you missed these last week:
📢 Community Review
To say that this section has been ‘well received’ would be something of an understatement. Thank you for all the feedback.
I have concluded this is ‘too much’ to include in SDC Weekly every week, and recognise this isn’t exactly the ‘SDC bread and butter’ people signed up for in the first place. That said, I’m posting two in a row because this format is new, and I hope to inspire others to send in reviews as well. My plan for now is to include a community review in SDC Weekly every 3-4 weeks; but, if I end up with a large enough backlog, I will start publishing community reviews as midweek ‘snack’ every other week and cease including them in SDC Weekly altogether. Let’s see how it goes, and keep those reviews coming in.
This week’s review comes to us courtesy of Paul (IG here) who, as it happens, already had a fully-written review in his back pocket… ready to send over. Below, he will explain why he had this review to hand - and hey, we aren’t complaining.
Watch: H. Moser & Cie - Pioneer Centre Seconds Cosmic Green, 40mm (Ref 3201-1201). Purchase Price: $15,900
1. What made you buy this one - and what gap in your collection (or your life) was it filling?
I had been Moser-curious for many years prior to this purchase. Their uncluttered take on the sports watch genre, colorful and minimal dials and preference for rubber straps held high appeal to me as well aligned with my primary tastes for everyday wristware. However, the generally larger case sizes that Moser had a propensity for kept me away from the Pioneer, which otherwise seemed right in my wheelhouse. Even the generous preowned discount on the 42.8mm watches wasn’t enough to make me take the leap.
That all started to change in 2023 with the release of the Arctic Blue Pioneer in 40mm, a reasonable size! My interest was piqued, but the Arctic Blue shade, while pretty, wasn’t exactly what I was looking for… at least in a new watch. I decided I would keep my eye on the secondary market and actually came close a couple of times to picking one up, but I just couldn’t quite get myself into that particular shade of blue.
That all changed in April 2024 coming out of Watches and Wonders with the release of the Cosmic Green Pioneer in 40mm. The watch was now pointed firmly at my personal tastes. At some point somewhat shortly after the show, I wrote to my SA at Topper Jewelers to inquire about the watch and was asked if I would like to be put on “the list”.
2. Think back to before you got it. What did you expect (or not) and what was wrong about the expectation?
I was looking for what I like to refer to as a 95-percenter with some personality. Something I could happily wear virtually everyday, but would likely keep on the shelf for only the roughest or most formal occasions i.e., the vast majority of my lifestyle. This turned out to mostly hold true, whether it’s business travel or bathing my kid, it always works for me. While it doesn’t get 95% of the wrist time, (I have a small collection that I like to wear somewhat regularly), I know I could essentially daily this if need be and it has received the most wrist time of any watch over the last two years of ownership.
3. What has the watch actually done over time… worn, loosened, scratched, faded, drifted, needed servicing, kept bad time, shocked you, met expectations? [I threw in this open ended question to give people space to criticise… this is a new format so I will refine questions after some reader feedback]
I put a nice scratch in the lower left lug at some point. I don’t remember the incident, so unfortunately there is no good story to tell, but I’m actually surprised how well the finish work on the brushed lugs and the high polished bezel has held up otherwise. The watch feels even more comfortable on my wrist than it did originally. It took a little bit of time to get used to because it does have a certain heft to it, even for a non-bracelet watch. The watch has not had a single issue though and seemingly keeps good time, though I admit, I don’t generally time my watches unless there is a feeling of a significant error.
My biggest niggle about the watch is that unlike almost every other automatic watch I’ve owned over the last 14 years, if you start it up from a dead stop, I’ve found that I need to juice the mainspring a little bit with handful of cranks of the crown or I will check back a few hours later to find that it has died. If I’ve done that, it won’t die as long as I give it good wrist time each day… so it just seems it requires a little extra help at the beginning to make sure my body movement (or lack thereof) is enough to maintain the wind.
Note: worth flagging that Moser uses a bidirectional pawl winding system (not the more common reverser wheels) so based on what Paul is saying, this is likely a winding efficiency problem which may actually be normal for this calibre. Worth checking if you want to buy one.
Moser also shipped this on a very small strap. My theory is that after years of shipping giant watches, somebody over there must have assumed that anybody wanting a 40mm watch over the 42.8mm version must have small wrists and packed it with an equivalent strap. Thankfully, a second, longer strap was provided to me shortly after at no cost.
4. What do you notice now that you didn’t in the first week? [This question is about the stuff you grow to love and discover with regular use, or which you’d never notice trying on briefly in a boutique or at a meetup]
I bought this watch, literally never touching a Moser before, much less this model, but I had high expectations for the case and dial finishing and that was met. I guess long term, the most surprising aspect is that the color hasn’t gotten old. I mean, green is my favorite color, but even as somebody who likes punchy colors on their watches, I thought there was a chance I might get tired of it, but if I was to move on from the watch, it wouldn’t be related to the color.
While I do have a penchant for more minimalistic dials, I generally find at least a little text/logo to add balance to the dial and sometimes find unbranded dials to just look too generic. This has not been a problem here and I like that the ghost logo is there when I want it!
5. When do you not wear it, and why?
If I have to wear a suit (on the rare occasions I do), I’d much rather wear something thinner, though I was in between dress watches once last year and put it on a leather strap. As a watch nerd I was not happy that I couldn’t wear a more suitable watch, but nobody else surely cared! Generally, not wearing it for mucking about in the yard or going hiking, but it’s seen both pool and beach time.
6. Knowing everything you know now, would you buy it again at today’s price? [I was trying to ascertain the user’s perception of value, particularly when references drop on the secondary]
I bought this fully understanding the secondary market for Moser Pioneers, knowing that if I had waited 6 months or so I was likely to save 30%, but it seemed so fully aligned to my specific wants/needs in a watch that I was ready to deal with that reality and buy it anyway. I’ve kept my eye on the secondary market for these and it seems to have done better than the older, larger Pioneers have done, so in that regard, I’m fairly happy with the watche’s performance.
The Cosmic Green 40mm model debuted with a new movement the HMC201, whereas the previous Pioneers, Streamliners and others used the HMC200. Specs-wise, the movements seem to be virtually identical, but some bridges and the rotor were opened up on the 201 along with a dark rhodium finish.
At time of purchase, the 40mm Cosmic Green Pioneer was $2k more than the existing Arctic Blue version thanks to the updated movement, which was a tough pill to swallow because other than the movement looking better, it didn’t seem to offer any upgrades over the previous version or at least Moser has not done a great job of illuminating any of them.
For the privilege of the more aesthetically pleasing caseback, the retail price of the Cosmic Green ended up $2k more than the Arctic Blue, both of which were concurrently available. I've heard rumors that there had been some quality issues on the HMC200 which have been remedied on the 201, but I've never read/heard anything that substantiates any improvement to the movement outside of the aesthetic changes.
As of today the current MSRP is $2400 higher than when I purchased it and at that price, I almost assuredly would not buy it new.
7. What has it cost you to own beyond the purchase price? [This question is here to allow for service costs, insurance, etc… may apply sometimes, but might drop this question going forward]
Other than a small bit for yearly insurance, nothing.
8. Has your relationship with it changed, like do you reach for it more or less than you expected?
It has endeared me to the brand a bit, but also made me take a more critical look at what the watch offers. However, it’s still the watch I bought that I felt I could wear everyday if I wanted and as somebody who has gone through a rotating cast of watches since I’ve purchased this Pioneer, the fact that it is still here I think speaks to how it has enmeshed itself in my life.
9. What would you tell someone in your shoes just before you bought it?
You better be confident that you both like and love it, because otherwise, you probably should just buy another Rolex or maybe go save some more and aim higher up the horological chain.
10. Anything else? The floor is yours.
This feels like burying the lede a bit, but after recently contemplating trading up into a Streamliner, I wrote this review to better help my understanding of my feelings on the watch. Based on watches I’ve handled at a variety of price points, the dial, hands and casework are all totally on point. The new movement looks really great, but as hinted at above, I don’t have a lot of context as to why this movement is “good” other than the fact that it looks nicer than the previous version. Performance wise, it runs at 3Hz, has a decent power reserve, and it seems to keep accurate enough time. But as cool as that looks, my understanding is that it’s mostly machine finished, albeit done better than most of it’s ilk. I feel like the watch is actually a bit thick for what it is and I assume that in some ways, the movement actually holds the watch back from being a bit more compelling. At 12mm thick, I can’t help but imagine how much more excellent it would be closer to 10mm.
Ultimately, I still love the watch despite this, a true feeling of the whole being greater than the sum of it’s parts for me. But if I take a step back and try to use a more objective standpoint, I couldn’t rationalize my way into likely paying another $8k more to upgrade into a preowned Streamliner which in most respects is the same watch (high quality case, dial, same movement) in a more interesting package.
But in the end, it’s okay to be happy with a watch as it is and it allowed me to take those potential funds and put it into a different watch to fill a different horological desire.
At first, you may think that ending sounds like ‘settling’ or compromising on a few annoyances for the sake of $8k… but I don’t think it is. People may use the term ‘GADA’ (go anywhere, do anything) loosely, but there is no such thing in practice. You may have a watch come very close if you’re the sort of person who doesn’t dress very formally at all or, equally, who always dresses formally; but there will eventually be a moment where your GADA watch will simply not suffice.
Paul seems to have figured out how this Moser fits into his life - according to his own criteria for what a watch needs to be - and this one works for him. The extra $8k on a Streamliner would not increase the utility of whatever role this watch serves in his life, so he doesn’t need to trade one for the other.
I commend how he reviewed his own watch to arrive at this conclusion… what a guy! It’s been a while, but in case this might be of use, we’ve spoken about this collectors’ matrix to help with scoring watches based on what you value.
Thanks for taking the time, Paul. 🤝 (Send him your follow-up questions in the comments below, or via IG).
💉 Fit is the new Rolex
For something to work as a status symbol it has to do two different jobs at the same time. Obviously it has to be expensive - we’ve heard a lot about this from old Veblen, and we’ve covered it many times. But it also needs to appear earned.