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royalSpotted December 2022

Royal Abdulaziz Al Rasheed spotted wearing a H. Moser & Cie

royal Abdulaziz Al Rasheed spotted wearing a H. Moser & Cie
Who & what: H. Moser & Cie Endeavour Tourbillon Concept Vantablack 18K White Gold 42mm – Reference 1804-0401

Spotted at what appears to be a sporting or social gathering, Dr. Abdulaziz Al Rasheed — Saudi intellectual, author, and member of the Al Rasheed royal lineage — was seen wearing one of the most conceptually audacious timepieces in contemporary horology: the H. Moser & Cie Endeavour Tourbillon Concept Vantablack. The watch sits quietly on his wrist, its dial all but invisible, betraying nothing until the light catches the flying tourbillon cage spinning at 6 o'clock.

The Endeavour Tourbillon Concept Vantablack houses the Calibre HMC 804, an in-house hand-wound flying tourbillon movement beating at 18,000 vph with a 7-day power reserve — an exceptional autonomy for a tourbillon of this size. The 42mm case is crafted in 18K white gold, with a polished bezel and brushed flanks giving it a restrained architectural presence. Front and caseback are both sealed with sapphire crystal, exposing the skeletonised bridges and the beautifully finished movement architecture. The crown is knurled and signed with Moser's distinctive double-M logo, one of the brand's few concessions to identity on an otherwise anonymous dial.

The dial itself is the watch's defining statement. Coated with Surrey NanoSystems' Vantablack VBx2 — a carbon-nanotube-based material originally developed for aerospace light-absorption — it absorbs nearly all incident light, creating a surface that reads not as a colour but as an absence. Moser introduced this treatment in 2018 as part of its Concept line philosophy: strip everything non-essential, including indices, logo, and even legibility, leaving only the tourbillon as proof of mechanical life.

For collectors, the Vantablack reference occupies a unique intersection: it is simultaneously a grand complication and a provocation. Moser's Schaffhausen manufacture produces these in extremely limited numbers, and the combination of flying tourbillon, noble metal, and the Vantablack coating makes secondary-market availability genuinely scarce. The watch commands serious attention at auction and among independent watch collectors who prize intellectual rigour over decorative spectacle.

Dr. Al Rasheed's choice is entirely consistent with a collector profile drawn to ideas as much as aesthetics. Wearing it casually with a Nike training jacket only underscores the point — great watchmaking requires no ceremony.

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