H. Moser & Cie Goes Digital With the Streamliner Mechanics Edition

It was a warm and sweaty pre-Grand Prix night at Le Splendide, France-Soir’s newly opened sister bar in Melbourne’s South Yarra.

The city was buzzing as it usually is this time of year, and I was lucky enough to have been invited to a H. Moser & Cie x Alpine F1 cocktail party — One of the perks of the job. I had arrived early, as I frequently do, and was milling about awkwardly when Edouard Meylan, one of my all-time favourite watch industry CEOs, walked through the burgundy suede curtain that covered the front door. To be honest, I was a little embarrassed when he said hello, this was the first time meeting him in person after I had published a story about my wife thinking he was hot. Awkward.
I needn’t have worried, however, he was a perfect gentleman about it. Even ending our conversation by asking me to send his regards to my wife. Cheeky.

The night rolled on with an appearance from Jack Doohan, a driver for Alpine at the time, plenty of cocktails and a case full of watches to be shown around. After a couple of hours of rubbing shoulders, the room started to thin out, and I was left sitting on a red velvet couch in between Eduard and his brother Bertrand. I often find myself in interesting situations, but this one takes the cake.

It was late by this stage, maybe 11:30, and everyone was getting tired. The Moser team had flown in that day, and they wanted to  go for a run early in the morning, something they do in every city they visit, so they were eager to get some rest. Nevertheless, we sat and ate, spoke about watchmaking, the industry and missing their families at home. Then out of the blue, Edouard pulled a watch out of his bag. It was a streamliner, that case is recognisable from a mile away. But this one was special. “Our first smartwatch” he said as he passed it to me. My heart skipped a beat thinking it was going to be another attempt by a traditional brand to capture the mass Apple Watch market, I’m looking at you TAG Heuer. When he explained its functions to me, however, it all made sense.

The Moser smartwatch is more Moser than smartwatch.

Introducing The H. Moser & Cie Streamliner Mechanics Edition

The worst thing a traditional watch brand can do (in my opinion) is trying to be like everyone else. Many have attempted to make a compelling smartwatch. Hublot had one, TAG Heuer has followed the Apple and Android recipe, only to make an expensive product that you have to replace every few years. The luxury industry just can’t compete with people like Apple in this space. I own an Apple Watch Ultra and it’s unbelievable. The fit and finish is flawless, it talks to my other devices, and it even knows when my blood oxygen levels are deviating from the norm. It feels like technology from the future and for a watch brand like Moser, who deals in technology from the past, it’s impossible to compete.
The right way to approach a smartwatch is not to approach it at all. Or, drop most of the features, zoom in on a niche and create something that aligns with the brand to its core. Edouard and the team knew this, and that’s what they did.

The Streamliner Mechanics Edition was developed in partnership with the Alpine F1 team, of which H. Moser & Cie is a major sponsor, and is their second partnership watch. It’s an analogue/ digital hybrid with a screen sitting below the domed dial that is black when turned off. The display is tinted blue and looks like the readout on a 90s tube amp when active. It feels nostalgic and forward-thinking at the same time. It’s a Streamliner first, and a digital companion second. Just the way it should be.

“The partnership between Moser and Alpine is an endurance race, not a sprint.”

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but most watch/sports sponsorships are surface-level at best. With one of the exceptions being that of Rafa Nadal and Richard Mille. If you look closely at the watches worn by most F1 drivers, an alarming proportion of them aren’t even set to the right time. It’s about marketing more than anything meaningful. So when a brand like Moser comes along and creates a brand-new watch, with a technology they have never used before, it’s a sign that they actually care about what they’re doing. It’s not just about money and publicity, it’s about creating something interesting for the teams and the fans.

Race Mode = Every Seven-Year-Olds Dream

The information displayed on the screen is limited but extremely clear. Edouard told me that they wanted to create something with a singular focus, a tool that the Alpine F1 team would actually use, not just a novelty. The digital module of the Streamliner Mechanics Edition features a GMT with country selector, split seconds chronograph and a perpetual calendar. All useful for the average buyer, but what I find the most appealing is the suite of purpose-built functions created for the Alpine mechanics. Pressing the ‘Sync’ button at 9 O’clock activates a ‘race mode’, where the watch connects wirelessly with your phone and can receive specific team notifications and messages. This includes key information like race start times and next race countdowns, so the mechanics (and lucky owners) can be informed at all times. It’s creates a real practical connection for the wearer to the race and the team.

The power reserve (battery life) has been calibrated to not only offer one year of time only functioning, but enough juice to power the watch in race mode for one hour at each of the six sprint races of the F1 season. I love this, it’s another layer of connection to the culture of the F1 and shows how far Moser is willing to go for their partners.

“With this project, we wanted to create a measuring instrument that meets the demands of a Formula 1 team, a tool designed to accompany their missions and further improve their race against the clock, their quest for every precious second” - Edouard Meylan

Coming on an integrated blue rubber strap, it fits beautifully on the wrist, like all Streamliners do. The digital module works with both IOS and Android (via bluetooth) and is controlled by buttons on the case sides. Best of all, the watch feels like it’s designed to last. Planned obsolescence has no place in Horology.

The Streamliner Mechanics Edition Is The Racing Watch Of The Year

As I sat in that red velvet booth with the owner of one of my favourite brands, it suddenly dawned on me that in life, you don’t have to do what people expect of you. If you had told me that Moser was making a smartwatch, and that I would be one of the first people in the world to see it while drinking wine with Edouard Meylan, I would have thought you were crazy. Maybe I'm the crazy one.

I’m starting to realise that the true visionaries in this industry are ones that revel in the opportunity to surprise people. They want to push the boundaries, and don’t care what the critics think. Moser has made some pretty divisive watches over the years. The Swiss Alpine (Apple) watch, the Swiss Cheese watch and that one covered in cow skin are some that come to mind. These were all pretty nuts, but I think the Streamliner Mechanics Edition is their biggest ‘balls to the wall’ move yet. Vroom Vroom.

Cya in the next one x

The H. Moser & Cie Streamliner Mechanics Edition is only available to purchase as part of a set with the newly released Streamliner Drivers Edition ($70,000 USD, limited to 200 sets), on its own if you’ve purchased a Streamliner Cylindrical Tourbillon Skeleton Alpine or if you’re a mechanic for the Alpine F1 team.