A Christmas Carol, with H. Moser & Cie.

If you are in Schaffhausen, you must stop at H. Moser & Cie., the independent watchmaker whose history is grandiose and whose innovative spirit is even bolder. I visited their office right before Christmas, and our conversation resembled the famous A Christmas Carol by Dickens: past and present are a prelude to an intriguing future, which the team is building watch after watch. Let’s start.

Past 

Moser, the brand, stands for Heinrich Moser, a Swiss entrepreneur, who built his fortune in the 19th century, between Switzerland and Russia, traveled the world, traded his own watches everywhere, and got himself into the most diverse businesses (in today’s language, he built a portfolio), among which the first Swiss dam, to generate energy out of the famous Schaffhausen waterfalls.

His deeds are celebrated in a museum overlooking the city center, and in the watches featuring his name, which the Meylan family bought at the end of 2012, after a few up-s and down-s for the brand, who went across wars and the quartz watches’ crisis, during the “short” 20th century. The archives and the history of the brand are copious.

H. Moser & Cie. has the typical, traditional Swiss pedigree. Plus, the Meylan family leveraged the expertise of Georges-Henri Meylan, CEO at Audemars Piguet until 2008, and his three kids. Edouard, H. Moser & Cie. CEO, and Bertrand Meylan, CEO of MELB Luxe Subsidiaries, the leading distribution entities worldwide, are actively involved in the brand’s operations. The family holding, MELB, also owns Precision Engineering, a manufacturer of components, and Hautlence, a smaller and elevated watch brand. At first look, it’s a traditional Swiss watch story.

Present 

Under the Meylan sun, H. Moser & Cie. went through a deep clean-up of distribution and product platforms, to give the brand a fresh start. Which became more of a continuous push of freshness and edgy innovation. Building on its flexible supply chain, own movements (from the three-hands to the tourbillon), a network of trusted and high-quality suppliers and trade partners, H. Moser & Cie. started pushing out new silhouettes with unique and surprising details, paired with irreverent and provocative communication, as if their goal was to evolve the dialogue around Swiss-made and bring it to new territories and dimensions.

In the past ten years, various limited editions and drops made the news: the Swiss Mad watch, with a case in Swiss cheese integrated with a composite material and cow-furred straps; a couple of rectangular watches, which poked at the iWatch by Apple, and reframed the discussion about mechanical and smart; a collaboration with Underd0g Studio, inspired by maracuja colorways, which clash with the formal expectations of the industry. And so forth.

It’s a long list, made of transparent lacquer logos, or uniquely crafted green enamel or fumés, up to a deep Vantablack dial (magnificent), or – again – to a pistol grey and rough skeleton structure for their signature Streamliner. There is more, and we can’t cover all of it here. In a nutshell, it’s not your traditional Swiss watch tale.

Future 

A new core, a shower of drops and experiments, technical advancements and marketing gigs: H. Moser & Cie. has carved out for itself a place and a reputation for design and newness, besides creating a community of savvy collectors. It tastes like innovation, with an aftertaste of tradition. The brand trades approximately 4,000 watches a year, across 100 wholesale stores, a DTC launched in 2020 and a few boutiques.

The company was also the first small independent brand to be RJC certified. The future looks rosy, especially because Edouard and family have created “a culture of openness and trust, where everyone feels empowered to push the boundaries of the business, going all the way to the fine line between surprise and shock. The family and private nature of the business allow all of us to risk, try stuff, and feed our trade and fans something of the highest quality and always interesting to wear, show and talk about,” says Mr. Meylan. The business is growing, especially after Covid, in line with the rise of the Indies. Partnerships and drops will continue (including Formula 1, with the Alpine – Renault Team, and obviously many more!).

There is always an empty seat at the table at H. Moser & Cie. It’s reserved for the future buyer, fan, stakeholder. It’s the continuous thought about who and what is coming next, which keeps the fire going. The group, MELB, will be looking at other potential acquisitions and growth opportunities, as “the culture of the group and the team under our roof are strong, and we have the tools and ambition to enlarge our portfolio.

We have big ambitions for Hautlence in 2025, with new projects. The vision is there. You find new ideas and courage at the edge of your fears, and this is what we would like to bring to the watch industry,” closes Edouard Meylan. The future will not be your typical, quiet and predictable Swiss Christmas Carol. At least chez H. Moser & Cie. Heinrich himself would be proud, and so is the next Gen of brand lovers.

Written by Francesco Pagano.
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