H. Moser & Cie Swiss Alp Watch Concept Black

It’s easy to mistake the new H. Moser & Cie Swiss Alp Watch Concept Black for a smartwatch. From afar, it looks like an Apple Watch. However, upon closer inspection, you’ll immediately notice that it has a rather odd design. We are talking about the absence of a dial along with the minute and hour hands. We’ve seen avant-garde models from various watchmakers, but this one certainly caught our attention. A minimalistic approach with remarkable elegance is the company’s signature, but maybe it needs to dial it back a little.

As you can observe, there is no means to tell the time visually. There is no secret window or special tech that hides the dial and hands. Basically, the only thing visible up front is the intricate one-minute flying tourbillon at the 6 o’clock position. We know that this seems like a big step in the wrong direction, but there’s a nifty little gimmick. In order to find out the time, you need to rely on your hearing.

This seems like an entirely new approach, but the technology was widely used back then. We’re talking about minute repeaters, which was an essential timekeeping feature in the past. When the use of electricity was still limited and it was too dark to see, the practical solution was sound.

This makes the H. Moser & Cie Swiss Alp Watch Concept Black a one-of-a-kind timepiece. It runs on a manual HMC 901 movement. Adjustments can be made using the crown that only shows the graduations when it’s pulled out. The transparent window on its case back gives you a glimpse of its finely-crafted complications.