This is Not (Just) a Watch

Before talking about the Off-Grid, the latest eccentricity signed H. Moser & Cie, it is necessary to indicate where it comes from: the Moser Exploration LAB, MEL for those in the know. It is an entity now separated from the rest of the brand’s organizational structure in order to focus on its most disruptive and innovative projects.

With the MEL, the aim is to bring to fruition an approach that has in reality existed for a long time. It has given rise to products as striking as the Moser Nature, the model with a cheese case (Swiss Mad Watch), or the watchmaking use of Vantablack. A kind of commando team, currently made up of around ten people, which has carte blanche to explore untouched and unexpected territories of watchmaking. The Off-Grid is its latest creation.

Familiar Ground

The watch immediately and unambiguously presents itself as a pure H. Moser & Cie. The distinctive signals are numerous: fumé dial, no branding, Streamliner case. There are also two lateral arches that recall the manufacture’s latest skeleton constructions in Schaffhausen. But that is where the analogies end.

For on either side of these two arches, two blocks unfold. At the top, a traditional, beautifully executed Moser hour dial, in fumé grey or fumé red (depending on the model). It has only two hands. The reason is technical: this first dial is powered by a quartz movement. The presence of a seconds hand would have indicated, but above all betrayed, this type of movement, which traditional Moser collectors would probably not have appreciated much.

Unknown Territory

Below, rather than a second circular hour dial, there is a rectangular display unit. The object embraces its digital character. It features three lines alternating on demand between numbers, text and motifs. They make it possible to display different functions, such as alarms, a chronograph, the Moon phase, among others. But this is where the Off-Grid’s singularity comes into play: it is not a connected watch. As such, it includes no push notifications, and it is not truly controlled via an app, except for a few very specific settings, such as the display of non-whole time zones (shifted by 30 minutes, or even 15 minutes). The object is therefore deliberately designed to be non-intrusive.

In the same spirit, when the watch is set down, after a few minutes, the hands of the hour dial overlap at twelve o’clock to save battery power (3 to 5 years of autonomy), and the secondary display also goes into standby (maximum autonomy of 12 months, minimum of 4 hours, depending on the functions activated). The motor of this second digital dial is recharged without contact, as an Apple Watch can now be.

Finally, the latest H. Moser & Cie invention: the “Off-Grid” mode itself, which gave the watch its name. It consists of displaying, when one is in a time zone other than that of one’s residence, an integrated micro-dictionary containing around ten words in 21 different languages, in order to interact locally and at a minimum, such as “Hello”, “Thank you”, “Help”, among others.

The piece is produced in two limited series of 1,000 examples each. It is reserved until September 23, 2026 for existing Moser clients, before being offered to all other potential buyers. It is available only in Moser boutiques and on the brand’s website.

Our Opinion

The Off-Grid will follow the same path as all H. Moser & Cie special projects: purists will cry foul, while others will probably be sufficiently amused to acquire one, especially at CHF 3,900.

In any case, the manufacture is now established enough for this kind of off-piste product without altering its brand image, positioning, or prestige. Hublot and TAG Heuer have released connected watches without fewer Big Bangs or Carreras being sold. And MB&F has never sold as many pieces since its M.A.D. models arrived on the market, and in fact they have come to represent a substantial share of its revenues.

But the parallel cannot be total: one can buy a TAG Heuer connected watch and then be persuaded by a mechanical Carrera model at a sometimes similar price. The same will not be true of the Off-Grid: the piece is positioned at CHF 3,900, while the core H. Moser & Cie range mainly stretches between CHF 15,000 and CHF 50,000, meaning 4 to 12 times the price of the Off-Grid. The piece is therefore more of a “one shot” than the deployment of an access collection, and will probably not be reissued afterwards. This will make it all the more very rare, the brand’s historic slogan, once the 2,000 examples have been sold. Which should not take long: the manufacture sold 500 in 24 hours, on September 21, the first day of sales.