H. Moser & Cie. Sales Director Talks About How "Streamliner" Will Change the Brand's Future

On November 11, 2022, H. Moser & Cie. International Sales Director Nicolas Hoffmann visited Japan for the launch of new products and a press conference. He said that while they are rushing to respond to demand that is growing year by year, their commitment to continuing to create unique watches remains unchanged.

Our customers want "unusual" watches

　Led by CEO Edouard Meylan, H. Moser & Cie. is a unique presence in the watch industry. The Streamliner, launched in 2020, has become a major hit, and production is currently struggling to keep up with demand.

　On November 11, 2022, an event was held in Japan to unveil the new Streamliner Tourbillon Rainbow, and Nicholas Hoffmann, who has long been in charge of sales at H. Moser & Cie., visited Japan.

　The Pioneer Cylindrical Tourbillon Skeleton won the Tourbillon category award at the Geneva Watchmaking Grand Prix (GPHG) 2022, and although Meylan was unable to come to Japan to attend the award ceremony, when he unveiled the first Streamliner, he said, "I hope the Streamliner will become an icon like the Perpetual and contribute to the growth of the brand," and that wish has become a reality in just three years.

　Hoffman smiled as he recalled the time before the Streamliner was unveiled.

"What struck me was that the entire H. Moser & Cie. team was left speechless when they saw the completed prototype in November 2019. A watch with a design they had never seen before suddenly appeared before them, and they couldn't decide whether they liked it or not."

　The collection's first piece was the Streamliner Flyback Chronograph. Named after a high-speed train that appeared and flourished in the 1920s and 1930s, the watch features smooth curves from the stainless steel case to the bracelet and sapphire crystal crystal, making it a groundbreaking piece never before seen by H. Moser & Cie.

　"But the more I wore it and looked at it, the more I realized it was a nice piece," he continues. "At the time, luxury sports watches were being arbitrarily standardized, and the Streamliner was a real anomaly."

　In just three years, the Streamliner has expanded its functionality with a flyback chronograph, three hands, a tourbillon, and a perpetual calendar. Returning to the topic of the new model, the one unveiled this time is a gorgeous model with a rainbow-colored sapphire set in the bezel. H. Moser & Cie. has several limited edition models set with precious stones, but all of them use stones in a single color or a one-tone gradient color.

　Hoffman explains the reason behind the brand's first use of rainbow colors:

"We want to incorporate the gem-set know-how we've used up until now into the Streamliner while adding a playful touch, but our main goal is to meet the niche demands of our customers."

　Recently in Japan, watches set with high-quality jewelry have become popular among men, but even around the world, there has been a gradual increase in the number of relatively young men seeking jewelry watches, and these are not flashy watches with jewelry set all over the surface, but rather modest watches with only a small part of the jewelry set, such as the bezel. This is partly due to the influence of fashion, but also to the fact that an increasing number of young people are finding value in unique and special watches.

　So how will H. Moser & Cie., which promotes its products as "Very Rare," respond to this ever-increasing customer demand?

"We are actively working to increase production, and are currently expanding our factory by increasing our workforce and investing in equipment such as machine tools. As of 2021, we had 50 to 60 employees, but we are aiming to increase that number to more than 80 in 2022 and 120 by the end of next year. This applies not only to watchmakers, but also to all positions, including sales and marketing."

　Currently, only a few H. Moser watches are available at any one time at limited stores, such as NX ONE GINZA and ISHIDA Shinjuku in Tokyo, and Oomiya Shinsaibashi store in Osaka. The situation is apparently the same not only in Japan but also in other countries.

　Hoffman emphasizes that he wants to alleviate this situation, even if only a little: "We are aiming to increase production, but mass production is by no means our goal; our number one priority is to continue maintaining high quality. We believe it is important to strike a good balance between supply and demand and to alleviate the frustration of customers who have to wait, so our challenge is to respond to that."

　The success of the Streamliner has brought about major changes for H. Moser & Cie. Even as production numbers increase, the "Very Rare" spirit will remain unchanged, and the company will continue to produce one unique model after another.