What does a manufacture that makes watches out of cheese appear like…or perhaps that needs to be what may it probably style like, by no means thoughts the way it smells! What if the identical manufacture additionally made a be careful of crops, which had been actually alive on the case so it was much less a watch than the world’s first and solely wrist backyard?
We’d additionally surprise in regards to the odor of such a watch, however we digress… After all, the good thing about making a watch case out of dairy and one that’s alive (affectionately dubbed Moser Nature) is that you simply routinely know which watchmaker we’re discussing…if the photographs and outline didn’t spoil it.
The irony is that H. Moser & Cie’s manufacture at Neuhausen am Rheinfall appears just about some other up to date watch manufacturing facility, minus the bombast of some. In some ways, it’s the not-perfect- but-just-right expression of a family-owned model that’s steadfast in its independence. H. Moser & Cie., beneath the quietly defiant stewardship of the Meylan household, has cultivated a status for being technically masterful, audaciously artistic and, at its greatest, unexpectedly humorous. It’s a model that honours custom by tastefully (generally) breaking its guidelines, proving that true luxurious is, above all, uncommon. Alright, that may be a bit a lot, even whether it is true. Enable us to again all this up, with out the assistance of anybody H. Moser & Cie watch…
From Imperial Russia With Love
Within the spirit of irreverence, allow us to say that the story begins not in Switzerland, however in St. Petersburg in 1828, the place founder (the correctly Swiss and Schaffhausen- born) Heinrich Moser established a model that may turn into a favorite of the Romanov courtroom.
An astute industrialist in addition to a grasp watchmaker, Moser later returned to Schaffhausen, the place he harnessed the ability of the Rhine Falls to construct a dam, powering the area’s industrial development.
Regardless of the auspicious beginnings, with the model’s museum estimating that Moser made lots of of 1000’s of watches, historical past had different plans right here. Clearly, we want not clarify in regards to the Romanovs (it didn’t finish effectively) and the Swiss operations light by means of a sequence of possession modifications within the twentieth century.
For many years, the identify was little greater than a footnote within the historical past of watchmaking till 2002, when it was formally revived. The true turning level got here in 2012 when the Meylan household, by means of their holding firm MELB, acquired the model.
Led by the charismatic Edouard Meylan, H. Moser & Cie. was reborn with a brand new philosophy: to be “Very Uncommon.” This isn’t only a advertising slogan; it’s a mission assertion reflecting its restricted annual manufacturing of round 4,000 watches, its mastery of roughly 20 in-house calibres, and a proudly contrarian spirit.
This boldness has produced a few of the most talked-about timepieces in latest reminiscence, from the “Swiss Alp Watch,” a mechanical center finger to the smartwatch craze, to timepieces fabricated from the aforementioned Swiss cheese (the Swiss Mad watch, which was a strong commentary on the legally protected Swiss Made normal and remarkably prescient about broader world manufacturing issues). But, beneath the wit lies a deep reverence for aesthetic purity.
Moser’s signature is the fumé (smoked) dial—a surprising gradient of color that darkens in the direction of the perimeters, typically left utterly sterile, freed from logos or pointless textual content. The model’s design philosophy is one in all elegant reductionism, maybe greatest exemplified by its perpetual calendar, which cleverly makes use of a small central arrow and the 12 hour indices to point the month, decluttering the dial in an act of horological genius.
Engineering Independence
This artistic freedom is powered by profound technical independence. On the coronary heart of the Neuhausen am Rheinfall manufacture is its sister firm, Precision Engineering AG (PEAG).
This specialist agency is devoted to producing probably the most crucial parts of a watch motion: the stability wheel and, most significantly, the hairspring. PEAG may also manufacture different escapement parts, such because the pallet fork and the escape wheel, however we didn’t see this ourselves.
The hairspring, a minuscule, spiralled wire, is the regulating organ of a watch—its beating coronary heart, as now we have generally waxed lyrical about. Its high quality dictates the timepiece’s accuracy, but its manufacturing is so specialised that solely a handful of corporations on this planet have mastered it. PEAG is one in all them.
The method is a marvel of persistence and precision, starting with a 0.6 mm wire of a proprietary alloy named PE5000 (which is as completely different to Nivarox as Nivachron is to silicon) that’s painstakingly drawn over two weeks to a thickness of simply 0.01 mm (we’re rounding up so you’ll have to think about that it’s even thinner, in case you can).
This wire is then flattened to be finer than a human hair (0.07 mm, in case you are counting) earlier than being meticulously hand-coiled – with the assistance of particular instrument, as proven within the photographs – into an ideal spiral. PEAG not solely provides Moser but additionally a choose group of different high- finish impartial manufacturers, producing as much as 800 of those very important parts every day.
Streamlined Manufacturing
On this observe, even a devoted maker of watches like H. Moser & Cie can’t declare to make the whole lot. The dimensions merely doesn’t match up, which is obvious when you think about what number of hairsprings PEAG could make.
Moser says it makes 80 per cent of its calibres,with the rest produced by Agenhor and Vaucher. These producers, likewise are intertwined with one another, with Moser proudly owning a minority stake in Agenhor. For its instances, Moser depends on the services of a Vaucher sister agency, Les Artisans Boitiers, which you’ll be able to learn extra about in our revisit of the Parmigiani Fleurier manufacturing websites.
Returning to PEAG, amongst its improvements is the Straumann Double Hairspring®, the place two equivalent hairsprings (a problem to search out!) are paired and set to oscillate in reverse instructions. This ingenious system averages out errors in timekeeping charges, attaining a degree of precision akin to a tourbillon however with out its complexity or fragility. Moser additionally has a modular escapement, the place your entire regulating organ will be eliminated as a single unit for servicing. This can be a sensible innovation, additionally seen at different extra up to date watchmakers, that streamlines upkeep with out compromising efficiency.
Now we have spent fairly a little bit of time on hairsprings and the like nevertheless it needs to be remembered that it isn’t solely PEAG doing the work of constructing parts. The remainder of the bridges, plates, pinions and gears are made in-house at Moser, which additionally shares its capabilities and capacities with Hautlence, one other sister firm. Like many different manufactures, there are CNC machines, computer systems and extra conventional lathes and the like. Mainly, the whole lot you count on from T1 and T2 stage manufacturing is accounted for.
Arguably, all this isn’t sufficient to make a manufacture, and H. Moser & Cie will get the concept that individuals are on the centre of watchmaking. Because it occurs, for its anniversary this yr, Moser has launched a sequence of movies starring its personal watchmakers, machine operators and museum curator.
Reimagining Issues
Moser applies its personal model of pragmatism and creativity to excessive horology. Minute repeaters are engineered with gongs and hammers on the dial aspect, not hidden throughout the motion, even when that could be extra in tune with the H. Moser & Cie ethos.
Chronographs have been designed with the winding rotor positioned on dial aspect, guaranteeing that the intricate great thing about the calibre, with its column wheels and levers, is absolutely seen by means of the caseback. However, chronographs have additionally been made to be to be utterly centralised in show model, which could be very a lot in line with the Moser approach.
Every complication is reconsidered not only for operate, however for aesthetic and emotional influence, reflecting the aforementioned ethos: to grasp time, not simply measure it. This dedication to excellence has not gone unnoticed. Moser has earned prestigious accolades, together with the Tourbillon Prize on the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève. In 2026, it is going to graduate from the incubator part of the Watches & Wonders honest to the principle corridor, a transfer that alerts its arrival as a serious drive in impartial watchmaking.
With its present facility at capability, a brand new manufacture is already beneath development, set to be accomplished in 2028. In case you do go to, we suggest not skipping the museum, the place the aforementioned curator will enjoyment of telling you in regards to the unbelievable historical past of the Mosers. You can not make these items up, however we needed to skip it right here, for house.
This story was first seen as a part of the WOW #81 Autumn 2025 Difficulty
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