An impressive complication for those with a soft spot for dynamics.

Watches in the Pioneer collection by H. Moser & Cie. could be considered minimalistic classics with a sporty vibe if it weren't for the perpetual calendar and tourbillon models joining the three-hand watches in the collection, especially the Pioneer Cylindrical Tourbillon Skeleton which really upset the applecart.

It gets even harder to label these watches if you look at the latest addition to the collection—a watch with retrograde seconds. It's almost half the price of the Pioneer Perpetual Calendar and a quarter of what the Cylindrical Tourbillon cost, yet you still couldn't call this a low-key watch.

It's all down to the partnership with Agenhor SA. The manufacturer of complicated movements and creator of the revolutionary AgenGraph chronograph has joined forces with Moser & Cie. The MELB Luxe group which owns the brands H. Moser & Cie. and Hautlence acquired the famous development lab last year.

Agenhor SA collaborated with H. Moser & Cie. to develop this winter's complicated Endeavour Chinese Calendar, and now they've made the retrograde seconds module for the Pioneer Retrograde Seconds.

What makes this indication special is the openworked display, which allows you to observe the snail cam in action as it releases energy accumulated by a hairspring under the hand's axis mounted with a stud holder. \

It uses a controlling rack. It's a 30-second indication, which makes it particularly dynamic. Moreover, the two-tone disk under the snail cam shows whether the watch is in the cycle's first or second 30-second period. In practice, it's unlikely that anyone will need to use this module by Agenhor SA to time seconds, but its authors have put thought into the practicality.

The new module was integrated into the automatic HMC 250 movement for the Pioneer Retrograde Seconds, which is based on caliber HMC 201 developed by H. Moser & Cie.

Apart from the basic mechanics, the model has preserved other traits of the brand's DNA. The case measuring 42.8 mm × 14.2 mm surrounds a fumé Midnight Blue dial. Staying true to minimalism, the brand's logo has been subtly rendered in transparent lacquer again.