It is no secret that at Life on the Wrist, we love independent watchmakers. We love their ability to push the boundaries of design and watchmaking and their confidence to make statements with their watches.  H. Moser & Cie released their Swiss Alp Watch which was a statement towards smart watches. They just released two incredible videos showcasing the “the final upgrade”, their last version of this watch and boy did it make us smile.

The Swiss Alp Watch was designed with a similar look to the Apple Smart Watch. H Moser is a huge advocate for Swiss watchmaking and in our mind, this was a way of directly addressing the smart watch and how it was competing with mechanical watches. The Final Upgrade took this to a whole new level too where H Moser incorporated a “loading wheel” at 6 o’clock on the dial of their watch which is often seen when one updates their apple products. This loading wheel is actually how one can see the seconds elapse.

In the two videos they released about these watches, they drum home the ‘less is more’ idea with mechanical watches. One won’t get a ton of notifications on their watch. Their only application is time. Limited to 50 pieces, this watch obviously has the incredible quality and rarity that comes with H Moser watches.

As we said in the beginning, we love independent watchmaking. It sometimes feels like they have the ability to do what they want which may sometimes hampers larger brands. I also think this is exactly how swiss watch brands should be competing against smart watches that have obviously taken huge market share and wrist time from the brands. It is an honest view and addressing them as a competitor and how swiss watchmaking can compete against it. Also, this watch is a great meme and who doesn’t love that?

Enjoy!