H. Moser & Cie.
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H. Moser & Cie. is a Swiss watch manufacturer, partially held by MELB Holding.
Heinrich Moser
Heinrich Moser (12.12.1805) founded H. Moser & Co. in 1828 in St. Petersburg and opened a watch factory in Le Locle the following year. Moser moved to Schaffhausen in 1848 and began developing industry in the area over the following decades. In 1868, he supported the American Florentine Ariosto Jones in founding the International Watch Company (IWC) in Schaffhausen, one of the major Swiss watch companies today. Moser died in 1874 and his fortune returned to Russia before being expropriated by the government in 1918.
Hy. Moser & Cie
The Moser company in Le Locle continued production of pocket watches, moving to wristwatch production in the 1950s. This incarnation traced its roots to 1926, though marketing often mentioned "more than a century" of history. Hy. Moser produced a novel jumping second model in 1955, known as the Moser Saltofix. By 1960, the Moser Dayter challenged Rolex with a similar day-date movement. Moser added braille watches in the 1960s.
In the 1970s, Moser specialized in high-end jewelry watches with precious metal cases. Hy. Moser & Cie. was acquired in 1974 by Le Locle clockmaker Paul Buhré, with production continuing including ultra-thin movements, many acquired from Robert Cart in 1970. In 1979, during the quartz crisis, the Le Locle factory was taken over by Dixi Mechanique Group and the Moser name was retired.
Moser Schaffhausen
In 2002 the watch company Moser Schaffhausen AG was founded by Dr. Jürgen Lange and the great-grandson of Heinrich Moser, Roger Nicholas Balsiger, together with private investors, in Neuhausen near Schaffhausen. At that time, Dr. Lange registered the brand H. Moser & Cie. internationally.
The first three H. Moser & Cie. watches premiered in 2005, the 200th birthday of the fouder. These were the Monard, Monard Date, and Mayu. The exclusive new movements, developed with the help of watchmaker Andreas Strehler, contained many novelties: A hardened escapement that needed no lubrication, a beryllium bronze "dragon-lever", conical winding wheels, and the "double-click" crown for quickset date. Simple functions like this would become a hallmark of the brand.
H. Moser & Cie. watches are known for their clean and simple dials. For example, the Strehler-designed Perpetual 1 (introduced at Baselworld 2006) hides the perpetual calendar with a tiny arrow hand rather than apertures and subdials. The Perpetual 1 concept remains in production as the Endeavour Perpetual Calendar and is the brand's best-known product.
Moser also became known for sophisticated dial production techniques and the use of the precious metal, palladium. In 2007, Moser introduced their own hairspring, co-produced with Precision Engineering AG of Schaffhausen. Another 2007 introduction was the tonneau-shaped Henry, a new look for Moser that failed to find sales success. However, it provided a platform for the Straumann double hairspring and laid the foundation for a much more important line, the 2017 Swiss Alp Watch.
In November, 2006 H. Moser & Cie. won one of the most prestigious prizes in the Swiss watch industry, the Best Complication prize at the Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève, for the Perpetual 1. The Perpetual 1 also won the "Over € 25,000" category at the Goldene Unruh for 2010.
MELB Holding
H. Moser & Cie. was taken over by the Meylan family in 2012 becoming part of MELB Holding, with Edouard Meylan becoming the CEO. He reinvigorated the company both with new products and innovative marketing approaches. The collection was reinvigorated to focus on eye-catching color dials, discrete complications, and everyday wearability.
Current Models
- H. Moser & Cie. Endeavour
- H. Moser & Cie. Venturer
- H. Moser & Cie. Pioneer - Daily wear haute horology
- H. Moser & Cie. Swiss Alp
- H. Moser & Cie. Heritage
Address
Moser Schaffhausen AG
Rundbuckstrasse 10
CH-8212 Neuhausen am Rheinfall
T +41 52 674 0050
F +41 52 674 0055
[email protected]
Weblinks
- H. Moser & Cie., official website
- H. Moser & Cie., company blog