Horological Meandering

There is a very remarkable press release, excerpts here: "With more than 6 million units sold in 2015, producing a turnover in excess of 6 billion dollars, the smartwatch market exploded in the past 12 months, driven by the giants of the electronics indus...  

How can a lover of fine horology or mechanical watches be tempted to sell his watch to go for an Apple watch? A mechanical watch is a life style, a passion, an Apple watch is a different life style. It may be fun, it may be useful, but it is a totally dif... 

This is the smartwatch target and a smart guy like JC Biver has accepted this new challenge.

when I saw the presentation of the TAG Heuer smartwatch, my concerns (that the industry by and large does not understand the smart watch) got once more substantiated. Magnus

(Techradar). Also, from what I heard the so far shipped quantities are indeed sold out, with replenishment stock to arrive at retailers these days. Nothing special for a new product in a 'hot' catagory (is it really? time will tell!) that went into the st... 

being mechanical and not sure if apple patent for the case would apply here..in any case I would love one !

According to Moser, only 50 pieces of this "Swiss Alp watch" will be made, so I see this model as an intriguing response to Apple watch from a vanguard of traditional mechanical watchmaking, in a serious yet humorous way. Cheers, Luis

And I like the idea behind building something to make it relevant, but getting too close to the design and look of something some else owns, that's not very nice.

Richard, We can see similar (if not identical) watch cases with wire lugs in horology museums across Switzerland (G-P, Patek Philippe, Chopard, MIH). The dial is a true representation of traditional watchmaking rather than an electronic rendering. I guess... 

I do also like that they're selling a good idea of owning a real watch...but marketing it directly against the smartwatch and then coming out with a design to look just like the Apple watch is cutting it too close, don't you think? It still is a nice watc... 

from a brand based on the refined product to another storytelling exercise....boring at its best. How to demolish the reputation of a brand,from sapphire watches to cheap marketing.... The chance of me getting a Moser these days?"VERY RARE"........

The sreply of the year

Moser was not really enjoying a great growth under the previous ownership. It is very difficult to compete with other names in this price segment. To be what they are doing here is really fresh and innovative. At least is not yet another tourbillon for th... 

The Spice Girls sold millions of records,but becoming amongst my fav groups takes other qualities. No doubt Moser wasn't doing well,and this new" quirky" approach might serve the purpose of economical success,but isn't that sad,that economical success is ... 

interpret their campaign. I found their previous video about the "original smart watch" (perpetual funky blue) less interesting and boring so I can understand how some will find this boring too!

I would call this typical British humor. Building a mechanical 'Apple' watch. Brilliant! Respect Moser, respect. This brand is getting higher and higher on my ladder of esteem. Just take a good look at what they are doing. They have got a very complete an...  

Limited edition. Looks more like a \'30s vintage watch. Personally I like the other ones better.

"no upgrade needed", no worries for "power supply down", "simple interface", "most essential applications", ........etc. And even an interesting sound appears at the very end of the video. Please watch till the last second. It's humorous. H. Moser & Cie S... 

They did a video about a year ago announcing their version of the SmartWatch... Apparently, Edouard has a sense of humor...

I really had mixed feelings on this but in viewing the video and noting the very limited edition I actually think it\'s a fantastic 2 fingers up to Apple. Apple have as many knockers as they have had fans, I\'m a big apple fan and once upon a time thought... 

Love the concept and I am certainly more likely to buy this as the "Anti-Apple watch" ...And I am even a HUGE Apple fan! (Just not a fan of the Apple watch) Kudos to Moser!

I’m enrolled in an excellent online specialization on Business Strategy offered by the University of Virginia and provided by Coursera. As I move forward with it, and being a strategy execution professional for many years, I would be VERY concerned if I w... 

I think it much depends on the segment you are looking at. In this forum many watches are not exactly accessible for someone in his early 20's. Most of the younger people I know usually aim to get a rolex (from what I can see most of the rolex forum here ... 

but I also and still think that this kind of interest comes from when you are younger, and if you don't have the references when you are young. And I'm not worried for the brands because of the owners, but because of the mechanical watches.

There is a major difference betweena mechanical watch and any of todays portable electronic devices. The electronic devices have product lifetimes of a couple of years, a watch is at least several decades. Even if by chance the e-device is still working a... 

...substituted by another hype but the today young people will not be interested in mechanical watches, because it was not and won't be part of their lives.

they get legal issues first !

Its already accpeted that they were inspired by the previous designs (well, now Ikepod's designer Marc Newson is 'Apple in-house'). Best, Magnus ...  

I am a lawyer (but not specialised in intellectual properties not a patent attorney) and i was intrigued by the claim of a swiss patent attorney on a local newspaper that Apple could have a claim for the design. Highly doubtful because the only similarity... 

which considers itself as luxury brand steal the design of someone else and be proud of it? If the reply of the Swiss luxury watch industry is to steal Appel's design, I think one can be worried. What would our reaction be if someone would copy-past Rolex... 

what did they steal? I think there are similarities in the case but can a company trademark or patent a shape? Just imagine if a company had the exclusive rights to a certain case shape (round). Incidentally I think that there are many rolex inspired time... 

I hope you are kidding. If you just see "similarities" so all watch cases look the same.

you cannot really patent or trademark a universal shape (square or squarish watches) so beside the case there is nothing that close (crown, movement, functionality, dial etc.). Apple is also not new to "borrowing" designs: www.cnet.com

think about Royal Oak similarities with Hublot, Calatrava with many Vacheron models etc. etc. at least they didn't attempt to create a watch so similar to another mechanical one

A (rhetorical) question - do you really think that this small LE was intended to turn a significant profit? Absolutely not. But The simple fact that this LE is generating discussion about the issues in the industry, and is simultaneously polarizing and at... 

in terms of boredom we have excellent example of the top brands issuing another ultra-expensive watch for the 0.000001% of people that can afford it and let's not forget the illusory limited supply: is that really more fair play? I think for a small compa... 

For a small maufacturer with a small amount of annual production, polarizing opinions and generating discussion (which is what's happening in this thread) by issuing a LE is a smart way of marketing or raise brand awareness. It's meant to be a double-edge... 

Great marketing move by H. Moser & Cie! Now let's see if Apple tries to sue Moser for this watch... Cheers, Anthony

... with all the fuss this headlines made in the tech-blogs, it gave them a bit of free publicity as well. I would be very surprised if Apple would even bother to react. It a different product, a different league, different customers... Particularly, sinc... 

Many thoughts that I get looking at this. In no particular order: - it is a rather nice looking watch. The fume dial, the case shape, the square-ish movement, the power reserve at the back, the kudu leather strap... I have to say I really like the product... 

from the ground here in Switzerland: a) A lot of the new buyers of mechanical luxury watches are Chinese. Each boutique will have at least one (sometimes more) Chinese speaking sales assistant. Now if the financial markets are an indication of what is goi... 

I find small and relatively large players to be often more secure than the medium sized ones. But to get to large or at least fair sized, you need to navigate the difficult waters in between and for that you either have ample resources, a killer product, ... 

very well devised. But Moser's recent communication, as you alude to, also reveals - willingly or not - their problems as they see them: the strong CHF must have a real impact on their sales, otherwise they would barely bother to feature this in an 'open ... 

As you said they are both relatively \'young\' in the current iteration and likely do not have the same level of RoI as more established players. Vertical integration - initially - is one of possible reasons, the other being their relatively lower bargain... 

I love this watch, and I hope Apple will not sue But it's true in my eyes that H. Moser, whose watches I love by the way, could maybe have avoided this kind of communication coup ...

sullies and cheapens the brand IMO

I hope this campaign will catch on in a viral way and explode. It\'s a good message for the Swiss watch industry, whether or not the Apple watch is a real threat. Best, CaliforniaJed