We speak to H Moser & Cie CEO Edouard Meylan about the watchmaker's most recent release, which marks the end of the Swiss Alp Watch series
The Swiss Alp Watch Final Upgrade is (yes, you guessed it) the last iteration of H Moser & Cie's Swiss Alp Watch saga that's had collectors scrambling for a first look since 2016.
"The Swiss Alp Watch was an instant success for us," H Moser & Cie CEO Edouard Meylan tells Tatler. The original 50-piece run sold out in the first 48 hours of its release. "From there, we've developed the collection using different materials, like white gold or steel, as well as different dials and high-end complications."
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The first thing you’ll notice about these watches is that they look nearly identical to the Apple Watch. The watchmaker's latest edition comes with an ultra-modern and rounded rectangular-shaped case. The super-slick dial is coated with Vantablack, which is known to be one of the blackest materials produced artificially.
“We’re been using Vantablack for a couple of years,” says Meylan. “It’s amazing––the darkest material ever created. It absorbs 99.965% of light.” It’s the first time Vantablack has been used for the Swiss Alp Watch. “We wanted to finish this series with a strong message so using Vantablack was perfect.”
There's no logo or indices, and the hour and minute hands are blackened for added ambiguity. A small seconds display sits at 6 o’clock and has been designed as a shaded disc that resembles the Apple spinning wheel––talk about tongue-in-cheek.
“The idea for the small seconds display came from a collector in Thailand who posts under the Instagram handle @moserlover," says Meylan. "After an event in Bangkok, he asked us if we could do a piece with some kind of progress bar on it. We thought it was a great idea and developed it for the Final Upgrade.”
