“We have extracted the essence of a complex mechanism and combined it with a minimalist design to emphasise the visual impact of the tourbillon,” said Meylan. It comes in a limited edition of 20 pieces. Moser models include the Endeavour Tourbillon Concept, a white-gold model with a funky blue dial and a hand-stitched and buffed kudu leather strap. “A Singaporean collector bought the Swiss Mad.” The auction’s proceeds were donated to the Fondation pour la Culture Horlogere Suisse with the aim of creating a fund to support independent Swiss suppliers to the watch industry. “We ending up selling the Swiss Mad, along with a prototype of the Swiss Alp, for 125,000 francs in a Christie’s auction,” he said.

Meylan gave the Swiss Mad a notional price of 1,081,291 Swiss francs (referencing the date of the signing of the Swiss Federal Charter on August 1, 1291) as a joke.

The latter, the Swiss Alp, comes with an in-house Moser calibre HMC 324 movement and a handwound four-day power reserve. The former, a one-off known as the Swiss Mad, is housed in a case made of hardened Swiss Vacherin Mont d’Or cheese and a carbon composite material. Prominent among his mischievous pieces is a “million-dollar watch” made of Swiss cheese, and a timepiece that outwardly resembles the Apple Watch but is a totally mechanical 18k white-gold beauty. Moser style of irreverent haute horlogerie,” as he puts it. Meylan said young watch collectors admire his company’s creations because they often exhibit a sense of humour and irony that’s quite rare in the staid world of Swiss watchmaking – “the unmistakable H. Moser in 2012, is located in the legendary Vallee de Joux, along with famous names like Jaeger-LeCoultre, Audemars Piguet, Patek Philippe and Vacheron Constantin. It has eight of its own calibres and produces 1,200 watches each year. The company employs 55 people in its manufacture. Moser is based in Neuhausen am Rheinfall, Switzerland, not far from the Rhine Falls, mainland Europe’s largest waterfalls, and Schaffhausen, the home of IWC.Īlso visit: Career shifts with Renee Tang, Director of Pacific Place Jakarta He subsequently set up MELB Holding and has acquired brands like Hautlence and H. Edouard’s father, Georges-Henri Meylan, was CEO of Audemars Piguet for almost a decade and was responsible for the brand’s meteoric rise. Edouard Meylan is the great grandson of Octave Meylan, who became a partner in H. But they want edgy designs, not the boring watches their fathers bought,” he said in an interview at Independent, Eurobutik Bangan Indonesia’s new timepiece store in Pacific Place. When we went back there this year (2017) in search of new clients, we sold 50 pieces in two days – mostly to watch lovers aged between 25 and 45.” Millennials with serious money to spend are looking for craftsmanship and quality, Meylan asserted during a visit to Jakarta last November. “Three or four years ago, we were selling a couple of watches a year in Dubai. “Today, we are selling watches to people in their twenties.

“Five years ago, the average age of our clients was 55,” says Edouard Meylan, the good-looking, dapper and youthful Chief Executive Director of Switzerland’s H. Times have certainly changed for the luxury timepiece business.

Edouard meylan