Okay, I will start out by saying that yes, the video that was created by the folks at Moser was funny, you can find the link at the bottom of this post.
Having said that, I can honestly say without fear that I will change my opinion, that this is a watch that is so unpleasant to look at that it hurts my feelings.
I appreciate humor. I absolutely appreciate making a statement. But with this latest splash of bravado, I start to understand what Gertrude Stein meant when she wrote of Oakland -
...but not there, there is no there there
I suspect that some of you are waiting for me to get to the damn point, so here it is -
More and more I wonder are the cinematic efforts of H. Moser an attempt to REALLY communicate brand identity and values? There is a time for bravado, and there is a time for restraint. On the one hand the message is we are extremely rare and wonderful. That is a great message by the way. But there is one problem - in the same message they say that not only are they rare and wonderful but please check out our latest partnership. Oh, and we're irreverent! Oh, and edgy too, don't forget edgy! Oh, and did we mention that we are also very rare...
Rare and wonderful? Then show me the watch makers, show me the production, show me the real care and attention that I am absolutely certain they pay to their product. If your message is about the watch, then talk about the watch. Cool it with the gimmicks and gags. Because more and more what it comes to look like is the boss writing large checks to feed his ego and make fun videos.
And while other brands are struggling to pay the milk bill, it is a wonderful luxury to have the funds to create an ego trip that tells the time. But it also shows that the brain trust at H. Moser are failing to heed one of Barry Hearn's rules (as adopted to the watch industry) - Keep your heart and your wallet in different places.
Let me close with this - while I write about this stuff, I am clearly not in H. Moser & Cie's demographic, and that is okay. The fact that it is not my particular demitasse of espresso, I understand that it might turn your crank. So if you're so inclined, here are the pertinents -
TECHNICAL FEATURES
SWISS MAD WATCH
Reference 8327
Reference 8327-1400 model made with Swiss cheese, red fumé dial, Swiss cowhide leather strap, unique piece
Case
Cheese integrated with itr 2 © composite material
Diameter: 42.0 mm
height: 9.4 mm
Sapphire crystal
See through sapphire crystal caseback
Crown adorned with an “M”
Dial
Red fumé with sunburst pattern
White lacquered applique indexes and hour and minute hands in the shape of a swallow's tail
Movement
In-house, hand-wound, mechanical HMC 327 calibre
Dimensions: 32.0 mm or 14 ¼ lignes, height: 4.5 mm
Frequency: 18,000 Vib/h
29 jewels
Power reserve: minimum 3 days
Moser teeth for all wheels and pinions
Original Straumann Hairspring® with stabilised Breguet overcoil
Functions
Hours and minutes
Power reserve indicator on movement side
Strap
Hand-stitched cowhide leather strap
Steel pin buckle, engraved with the Moser logo
Having said that, I can honestly say without fear that I will change my opinion, that this is a watch that is so unpleasant to look at that it hurts my feelings.
 |
| Courtesy of H. Moser & Cie. |
...but not there, there is no there there
I suspect that some of you are waiting for me to get to the damn point, so here it is -
More and more I wonder are the cinematic efforts of H. Moser an attempt to REALLY communicate brand identity and values? There is a time for bravado, and there is a time for restraint. On the one hand the message is we are extremely rare and wonderful. That is a great message by the way. But there is one problem - in the same message they say that not only are they rare and wonderful but please check out our latest partnership. Oh, and we're irreverent! Oh, and edgy too, don't forget edgy! Oh, and did we mention that we are also very rare...
Rare and wonderful? Then show me the watch makers, show me the production, show me the real care and attention that I am absolutely certain they pay to their product. If your message is about the watch, then talk about the watch. Cool it with the gimmicks and gags. Because more and more what it comes to look like is the boss writing large checks to feed his ego and make fun videos.
And while other brands are struggling to pay the milk bill, it is a wonderful luxury to have the funds to create an ego trip that tells the time. But it also shows that the brain trust at H. Moser are failing to heed one of Barry Hearn's rules (as adopted to the watch industry) - Keep your heart and your wallet in different places.
Let me close with this - while I write about this stuff, I am clearly not in H. Moser & Cie's demographic, and that is okay. The fact that it is not my particular demitasse of espresso, I understand that it might turn your crank. So if you're so inclined, here are the pertinents -
TECHNICAL FEATURES
SWISS MAD WATCH
Reference 8327
Reference 8327-1400 model made with Swiss cheese, red fumé dial, Swiss cowhide leather strap, unique piece
Case
Cheese integrated with itr 2 © composite material
Diameter: 42.0 mm
height: 9.4 mm
Sapphire crystal
See through sapphire crystal caseback
Crown adorned with an “M”
Dial
Red fumé with sunburst pattern
White lacquered applique indexes and hour and minute hands in the shape of a swallow's tail
Movement
In-house, hand-wound, mechanical HMC 327 calibre
Dimensions: 32.0 mm or 14 ¼ lignes, height: 4.5 mm
Frequency: 18,000 Vib/h
29 jewels
Power reserve: minimum 3 days
Moser teeth for all wheels and pinions
Original Straumann Hairspring® with stabilised Breguet overcoil
Functions
Hours and minutes
Power reserve indicator on movement side
Strap
Hand-stitched cowhide leather strap
Steel pin buckle, engraved with the Moser logo
I liked the video to be honest, the whole watch is a joke (1 million francs, really?), but I'd love to see the normal white gold version, if we take out the weird strap (sorry Marguerite, hahaha) and the cheese case there's a wonderful designed watch.
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