H. Moser & Cie is the latest and most interesting brand to line up on the F1 grid. The watch brand joins the likes of IWC, Richard Mille, Girard-Perregaux and TAG Heuer, having been asked by Alpine Racing to be its partner, confirming H. Moser & C's rapid ascent from plucky upstart (admittedly grafted onto older roots) to serious contender.
Led by Edouard Meylan since his family acquired the business in 2012, H. Moser & C has been transformed into one of the watch world's hottest properties. Its 3,000 or so annual production is barely enough to meet demand from collectors seduced by the very direct and individualistic character of the brand, design that’s based on, but not weighed down by, traditional codes and movements that are beautifully conceived and executed.
As a brand, H. Moser & C has been happy to take swipes at Apple, watch brands that just repeat back-catalogue designs, and brands that buy anything outside Switzerland (via a watch with a case made from Swiss cheese), so it was something of a surprise when the Alpine announcement came through. But, as the Renault-owned team’s approach to the watch company was based on Renault CEO Luca de Meo being an avid collector, Meylan and his team were quickly won over.
The rationale is clear enough, the F1 paddock being a catwalk for watch brands as well as there being obvious parallels in the engineering and design cultures (save for the idea of making parts to last hours rather than decades), but it’s also the right time for H. Moser & C to begin spreading its wings in terms of ambition and profile.
The tangible result is a highly complex watch, the Streamliner Cylindrical Tourbillon Skeleton Alpine Limited Edition. The cushion-shaped 42.3mm ‘mid-century modern’ case is H. Moser & C's take on the ‘sports-luxe’ concept that no serious brand is without. It houses a showcase of the brand’s technical abilities with a tourbillon escapement fitted with a cylindrical balance spring made by the brand's subsidiary, itself one of a bare handful of companies that have the capability to make these.
The watch is available in a 100-piece limited edition, cased in steel with a blue rubber strap, CHF89,000; there’s also a pink-dialled edition of 20
