In 2016, H. Moser & Cie gave us the Swiss Alp Watch – a playful interpretation of the industry’s obsession with the smartwatch. The Alp watch’s shape was inspired by the Apple Watch but this was a mechanical watch in the finest Swiss tradition. It became a talking point at SIHH 2017 thanks to a tongue-in-cheek introductory video featuring CEO Edouard Meylan that parodied Apple’s product introductory films.
Now the indie brand from Schaffhausen has introduced a new model to the range, the whimsically-titled Swiss Alp Watch Zzzz, a timepiece that could be mistaken for an Apple Watch on standby mode. As the brand is wont to do, the Zzzz is a cheeky reference to stand-by mode of smartwatches.
When launched in 2016, the Swiss Alp watch caught the imagination of watch aficionados and the company had no trouble shifting the early models that were limited to just 50 pieces. A prototype of this watch along with the Swiss Mad Watch was sold for $100,000 at an auction last week. All the proceeds from the auction sale is to go to the Fondation pour la Culture Horlogère Suisse (Foundation for Swiss Watchmaking Culture).
It feature a distinct rectangular case, with rounded corners and a glossy black dial. So far, so Apple Watch, but look a little closer, and it reveals itself to be a mechanical watch, now sans indices or logo on the dial.
The watch uses an 18 carat white gold case that measures 38.2 x 44.0 mm. It has wire lugs seen on the more premium leather strap Apple Watch models. Slim enough to slip under a shirt cuff at 10.33 mm, the watch is fitted with a black alligator leather strap. It is powered by the in-house hand-cranked HMC 324 movement visible thanks to the exhibition caseback.
A classical slow beat movement (18,000 vph), the movement uses the brand’s Straumann hairspring with stabilized Breguet overcoil and is finished in the finest haute horology tradition. HMC 324 was first used in the tonneau-shaped H. Moser & Cie. Henry Double Spring models. However, the movement used in the Alp Watch uses a single hairspring.
Alongside this glossy black Zzzz version, Moser is also releasing a 'Brrr' version in its characteristic Funky Blue fumé dial paired with a beige kudu leather strap. Fumé dials are another Moser specialty and is used across its other models. Both versions are available in a limited edition of 20 pieces.
