Watches with the world's blackest dials have been joined by a new addition.
The UK company Surrey NanoSystems launched a new material called Vantablack at the 2014 Farnborough International Airshow. According to the results of testing carried out by the UK's National Physical Laboratory and the Institute of Standards and Technology in the US, this material has been unanimously proclaimed the world's blackest black.
The coating obtained by growing carbon nanotubes measuring 20-30 nanometers on a metal base was found to absorb 99.965 % of light. This has the potential to transform perceptions of the color black as we know it, which, it turns out, happens to come in a wide spectrum of shades. Vantablack appeared on the watchmaking scene in 2018.
The company H. Moser & Cie. gave the Endeavour Perpetual Moon Concept model an ultra-black dial. This was subsequently followed by a full range of expressly accentuated minimalistic models in Vantablack.
At the beginning of 2022, a watch appeared called the Endeavour Small Seconds Total Eclipse, where the no-nonsense toolkit of indicative features has welcomed dot-style markers and Breguet-shaped hands. The watch was created in collaboration with the Armoury — a mensware brand which creates looks for modern gentlemen with the company's own branded clothing and accessories designed in collaboration with other brands.
They considered both the option of a traditional fumé dial by H. Moser & Cie. and Vantablack. In the end, the decision was made to go with the later, as Vantablack gave designers at the Armoury the idea of representing a total solar eclipse crowned by the halo of the Sun's visible corona and prominences.
In order to achieve this effect on the Endeavour Small Seconds Total Eclipse, its dial was encircled by a polished inner flange. Two versions of the model were presented: one in steel (ref. 1327-1200) and another in steel with a red-gold flange and hands (ref. 1327-1201). One of the main objectives for the Armoury based in Hong Kong was to slim the case down to 38 mm (models from the Endeavour collection usually exceed 40 mm).
The case measures 9.9 mm in height. Both model versions were released in limited-edition series of 28 pieces, which have all sold out already. Both watches have been equipped with the smallest and finest of H. Moser & Cie. movements called the HMC 327, developed in 2014 for the Venturer Small Seconds model. It uses an escape wheel and anchor both made of silicon and has a Straumann hairspring with a Breguet overcoil.
The three-day power reserve can be checked by glancing at the indicator on the caseback, where the movement can also be admired thanks to the transparent sapphire crystal.