This one is for elder millennials and Gen-X only. In perhaps the most surprising collaboration we’ve seen in a while, H. Moser has partnered with Reebok to bring us the Streamliner Pump, a limited edition of 500 pieces total across two variants, that combines the familiar, Art Deco inspired shape of Moser’s integrated bracelet sports watch with one of the most iconic sneaker designs of my childhood.
For the non-sneakerheads or readers who are simply too young to remember, the Pump was a Reebok sneaker that became a cultural phenomenon in the early 1990s. The gimmick was that with the “pump” of a large orange button on the top of the shoe’s tongue, the wearer could inflate and regulate a fitting cushion in the lower part of the tongue to obtain a better and more secure fit. It was an answer of sorts to Nike’s “Air” technology, but more tactile and focused on the user experience. It was also tailor made for splashy marketing campaigns with big celebrity endorsements (Dee Brown and Shaquille O’Neal are the NBA stars that immediately come to mind as Pump wearers), and I can vividly remember desperately wanting Pumps of my own at an age where I honestly thought I for sure would have a career in professional basketball.
Moser has captured at least some of that nostalgia with this new release. For the Streamliner Pump, Moser has added an anodized aluminum pusher to the case at the 8:00 position, the “pump” as it were. Press it, and the pusher transmits energy to the barrel spring, effectively winding the watch, which can be observed via the power reserve indicator inside the 8:00 marker on the dial. According to Moser, one press of the pump nets you more than an hour of power reserve. Moser, smartly, has engineered the pump so that even after the power reserve is topped off, the user can still press the button. Over-pumping is not possible.
As you’d expect, Moser didn’t exactly have a Pump-ready caliber sitting on their movement shelf waiting to go. The movement here, the HMC 103, is a re-engineering of the HMC 500, but with automatic winding removed. The caliber has been lightly skeletonized and of course is visible through a display caseback. It has a power reserve of 74 when fully wound/pumped.
The case measures 40mm wide and 11.4mm thick, and is made from forged quartz. Unlike forged carbon, quartz fibre can be colored, so there’s a certain flexibility and freedom of design available with this material (white and black cases are available, 250 of each). According to Moser, cases are made by first cutting the quartz fiber into segments, compressing them in a mold, and combining with a resin material before a multi-step curing process. The result is a matte case, each with a unique moiré pattern. The movement is protected by a titanium inner case and allows for 100 meters of water resistance while taking advantage of the lightness of the quartz material.
I said at the top that this is a surprising release, and while I certainly didn’t anticipate that I’d be thinking about the Reebok Pump this week, Moser has proven that they’re open to working with brands in unexpected ways. They of course released a watch alongside Studio Underd0g a few years ago, but the most relevant previous collaboration that’s worth mentioning here is the Streamliner they made with Undefeated, the streetwear brand. This is of course sneaker-adjacent, and speaks to Moser’s interest in appealing to a broad, relatively young audience that other watchmakers might not be fully taking advantage of.
The Streamliner Pump retails for $39,900. H. Moser
