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H. Moser & Cie.: Erase The Brand To Sublimate The Creation

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#watch #watches minimalism #luxurywatch
Published
04/25/2021 by

In 2015, H. Moser & Cie. decided to pursue ultimate minimalism, removing the logo from its Concept dials, and turning understatement and fumé dials into an iconic signature. This return to the essential, embodying a bold yet human luxury, was designed to shine the spotlight away from the brand, and back onto the product and the expertise. This approach was such a success that H. Moser & Cie. has asked seconde/seconde/ to reinterpret it through a conceptual model. In a radical contrast, an anachronistic hand in the shape of an eraser, vividly coloured and pixelated, replaces the hour hand, lending an irreverent and ironically poetic edge to this classic piece of craftsmanship. 

By giving the timepiece back its primary function, H. Moser & Cie. demonstrates that a genuine luxury product can be identified immediately, even without a logo, thereby proving that a true connoisseur buys a watch for its intrinsic value and not for its branding. Like a bridge between the past and present, the Endeavour Centre Seconds Concept model is also a reminder that, in the early days of watchmaking, only the movement was sometimes signed. With its absolute purity, the dial thus stripped of all elements returns to the basics and the very essence of watchmaking itself. To illustrate this approach, H. Moser & Cie. wanted to collaborate with seconde/seconde/, asking him to redesign one of its models. To mark the passing of the hours, a vividly coloured pixelated eraser replaces the traditional hand, a nod to the logo which has been erased to fully reveal the creation.

Sharing a taste for the unexpected with seconde/seconde/, Edouard Meylan, CEO of H. Moser & Cie., appreciates the modern and artistic edge that seconde/seconde/, alias Romaric Andre, has brought to this piece: "By adding a disruptive element, seconde/seconde/ flips the aesthetic, providing a welcome contrast whilst respecting the elegance inherent to this model, playing with the very concept of our dials without logo or indices". Parisian artist seconde/seconde/ explains his philosophy: "The "hand swap" – this principle designed to switch one or more hands on an existing watch – has become my signature and, for me, it is driven by a latent disrespect impulse. I want to upset the balance. Create disharmony. This dissonance is my way of disorienting the product, deconstructing it. So that I can then reconstruct it. To reveal an unknown facet or show another perspective. My perspective. The eraser, I see it as a banal everyday object which is taking power over the prestigious exceptional object. It is a metaphor for removal and for minimalism – notions clearly dear to H. Moser - but also a metaphor for that constant striving effort, for these fruitless attempts, often hidden from view, that we erase a thousand times before solving the equation, before successfully completing this work. To sometimes find what you seek, you must constantly make mistakes, and erase".

Behind the apparent simplicity of the Endeavour Centre Seconds Concept lies several results of two-hundred years of expertise. At the heart of its steel case beats the self-winding calibre HMC 200, a manufacture movement entirely designed and created by H. Moser & Cie. Its regulating organ was manufactured by H. Moser & Cie.'s sister company, Precision Engineering AG, using expertise that very few manufactures can claim to have in-house. The Endeavour Centre Seconds Concept X seconde/seconde/ model is released as a limited edition of 20 pieces, and will only be available on the H. Moser & Cie. website. Each piece will be accompanied by an exclusive numbered work by seconde/seconde/.   

H. Moser & Cie.’s own and unique take on Haute Horlogerie.

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