H. Moser calls time with his Swiss Alp Watch, a very serious mechanical timepiece that started life as the punch line of an industry joke.
After Tim Cook introduced the Apple Watch in 2015, the young, unashamed CEO and owner Edouard Meylan of the Swiss independent brand seized the opportunity by calling his company’s Endeavor Perpetual Calendar the original smart watch in a pitch-perfect, tongue- in-cheek launch video full of jabs targeting Apple’s foray into ‘timepieces’.
The following year, Moser went on to launch the Swiss Alp Watch, whose tablet-shaped case directly mirrors the shape of the Apple Watch, which was the mainstream of news around the world.
Meylan’s plan threatened to ridicule him and his brand, as the Swiss watch industry and luxury in general are not historically known for having the broadest sense of humor. Fortunately for Meylan (and perhaps the industry as a whole), his customers and a much wider global audience got the joke.
The Swiss Alp Watch Final Upgrade takes the imitation of smartwatches by design to its obvious conclusion with a dial covered in Vantablack, the darkest artificial substance ever created, and black hour and minute hands that give the impression of a smartwatch in the world. standby state.
At six o’clock is a small second which, instead of using the traditional sub-dial and hand, consists of a series of rectangular openings with a seconds disc painted in a white gradient rotating underneath, perfectly mimicking the image of Apple’s spinning wheel . . The whole design was proposed to the brand by a customer.
H. Moser’s in-house hand-wound caliber HMC 324 is housed in the watch’s black DLC-treated stainless steel case, hitting 2.5 Hz and offering 96 hours of power reserve. The reference marks the retirement of both the model and the movement.
Only 50 pieces of the H. Moser & Cie Swiss Alp Watch Final Upgrade will be produced, priced at $ 30,800 USD. If you would like to place an order for a watch that has probably prevented the Swiss watch industry from taking itself so seriously, go to H. Moser & Cie.
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