Swiss alp watch final upgrade 5324 1205 lifestyle 01

H. Moser ends silent war against Apple Watch

H. Moser & Cie is ending its lonely vigil as the Swiss watch industry’s only sentry guarding against Apple taking over the world with its connected Watch.

H. Moser & Cie is ending its lonely vigil as the Swiss watch industry’s only sentry guarding against Apple taking over the world with its connected Watch.

It is hard to say whether Switzerland’s collective shrug at the threat from Apple has been genius or folly.

For sure, Apple now makes more watches than the entire Swiss industry combined.

However, sticking to the line that history, rarity, luxury and mechanical mastery is the only ground on which it will fight does appear to have at least kept the Swiss citadel standing.

Only the pandemic has put any serious dent in Swiss watch sales since Apple launched its Watch in 2015.

Moser may therefore have concluded that there is no further need for it to keep making its Swiss Alp Watch, a mechanical watch designed to look at first glance like an Apple Watch as a means of silent protest.

The first Swiss Alp launched in 2016 in response to the emergence of connected watches and in order to express the need for a nearly two-hundred-year-old brand like H. Moser & Cie to remain faithful to its values of tradition and mechanical Haute Horlogerie.

Moser is signing off on its campaign with a one-of-a-kind piece named the Swiss Alp Watch Final Upgrade.

The watch achieves the blackness of a lifeless Apple Watch face with the use of ultra-black Vantablack for the dial and darkened grey hours and minutes hands. There is no logo on the face, just a small seconds sub dial at 6 o’clock.

The flip side of the watch shows all of Moser’s watchmaking skills in the form of its hand-wound HMC 324 manufacture movement, presented through a square crystal case back.

The Swiss Alp Watch Final Upgrade which, unlike Apple’s Watch can be passed down to future generations, comes in a 38.2mm x 44 mm steel case with black DLC coating. It is worn in a black alligator strap.

It is not clear whether the watch will ever be put up for sale.

Join the Conversation

1 Comment

  1. Or Moser saw the light and concluded that it’s pretty stupid to protest against a product that – seen the sales figures – obviously the whole world was waiting for.

    I like Moser’s ‘Apple’ watches thought; if they weren’t for a silent protest…

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *