H. Moser & Cie are an independent watch brand who has become known as the enfant terrible of the Swiss watchmaking industry. Quite a polarising brand, they made their name initially creating beautiful elegant timepieces but in the last few years, they have really become a force to reckon with introducing satire into their watchmaking, with pieces such as the one-off ‘Swiss Cheese’ watch and ‘Apple’ watch. I for one think this is refreshing that a brand is taking an active stand to criticise and create a commentary on the Swiss watch industry, especially as it comes from a brand with a very strong pedigree.
The H. Moser & Cie Mayu is one of the earlier creations from the manufacture and is a very nice, understated and elegant piece with a lot of details going for it. The 39mm case is crafted in rose gold and despite it looking like a traditional watch case, the construction of the lugs gives it a lot of extra depth and makes it far more interesting. The case design is done so that the softly bevelled lugs run off to the side of the case and slowly diminish, with its polished finish perfectly contrasted with the brushed finished in the background. The dial is seriously mesmerising as the brown fume finish really reflects light well and creates all sorts of tones.
It’s not all looks with the Moser Mayu as the watch is powered by a very impressive in-house calibre HMC 321.503. The manual winding movement is regulated by a Straumann double hairspring which is also produced in-house and the springs move in opposite directions, offsetting gravity errors. Not many manufactures can say they create their own hairsprings! Furthermore, there is a power reserve indicator on the movement and it has a whopping 80 hours of run time! The movement is beautifully finished and architecturally very pleasing to look at.
With only approximately 1200 pieces produced a year, H. Moser & Cie is truly an enigmatic independent brand that creates highly original timepieces.
