H. Moser & Cie. is making a mockery of legislation covering official Made in Switzerland legislation by announcing the announcement of a watch made of Swiss cheese.
The Swiss Mad Watch is unique, symbolic, and irreverent, but most importantly, 100% Swiss and proud of it, the company’s accompanying press release describes.
The watch may be mad, but the message from the passionately Swiss watchmaker H. Moser & Cie is serious. “With the Swiss Made label for watchmaking revised from January 1st, 2017, to require 60% of components in a watch to be of Swiss origin, H. Moser & Cie. has soundly critiqued the shortcomings of this inadequate label and stands up for true independent Swiss watchmakers.
The Schaffhausen-based business, which asserts its watches are over 95% Swiss, says this label is too lenient, providing no guarantee, creating confusion and encouraging abuses of the system. For these reasons, H. Moser & Cie. has decided to remove the Swiss Made label from all new watches created from 2017 onwards,” it announces.
“Our Swiss Mad Watch sends a clear message to the Swiss watchmaking industry, the authorities and watch enthusiasts: the Swiss Made label is meaningless. Worse than this, it gives credibility to the worst abuses in our industry. Our response to this lax and insufficient label is derision. At H. Moser & Cie., we produce watches that are truly Swiss, watches that are steeped in watchmaking tradition and centuries of experience. The quality of these pieces speaks for itself and dispenses with the need for a label. We are no longer “Swiss Made”, but we are Swiss. 100% Swiss, in the case of the Swiss Mad Watch, and over 95% Swiss for all of our other models,” says Edouard Meylan, CEO of H. Moser & Cie.
The Swiss Mad Watch will actually be presented during SIHH next week and is will be on sold for CHF 1,081,291, a figure relating to the signing of the Swiss Federal Charter on August 1st, 1291.
All proceeds from the sale of this watch will be used to create a fund to support independent Swiss watchmaking suppliers currently suffering under the difficult economic situation and outsourcing to Asia, the company says.
In case you are wondering how you make a £1m watch out of cheese, M. Moser & Cie reassures that it is cheese integrated with itr2 ©composite material containing an in-house, hand-wound, mechanical HMC 327 calibre.
