Prominent Swiss watchmaker H. Moser has produced a limited edition wristwatch made using a Swiss cheese resin. The timepiece was created in protest of new regulation concerning the utilization of the ‘Swiss Made’ label on watch faces.
Today, as long as 60 percent of the value of the watch comes from Switzerland, it qualifies as being ‘Swiss Made’ and gets to display the fact prominently on the dial. Most importantly, this regulation now includes things like research and development costs. That means that a watch could, theoretically, be manufactured outside of Switzerland and still be called Swiss Made, provided the development costs were high enough.
In protest, Moser has removed its ‘Swiss Made’ label from its watch faces and produced the Swiss Mad Watch. The 42mm watch comes with Moser’s HMC 327 calibre inside (meaning it has a proper automatic movement) with a red fume dial and white indexes that are intended to ape the Swiss Flag. It also comes with a Swiss cowhide strap. Oh, and the case is made of cheese.
To make it as Swiss as possible, Vacherin Mont d’Or cheese (which comes from the same village as Moser CEO Edouard Meylan) has been combined with resin to create a composite material.
The original concept watch costs 1,081,291CHF – a reference to the founding date of Switzerland, the 8th of August, 1291. H. Moser has also put together 50 pieces in stainless steel for US$21,500, and all the proceeds from the watch will go towards a fund for supporting independent Swiss watchmaking.