Moser Creates $350,000 Mechanical Apple Watch Clone
Swiss watch company H. Moser & Cie. Swiss Alp is once again poking fun at the Apple Watch with its creation of a $350,000 clone of the popular Apple wearable, according to a report from Tech Crunch. In its first attempt, the watch company basically copied the design of the Apple Watch’s case to create a $25,000 mechanical imitation. This time, it has used a similar tactic by recreating the Apple Watch case design to do something unexpected and a bit more expensive.
According to a report from Engadget, “the Swiss Alp Watch Concept Black [is] a mechanical watch that once more riffs on Apple’s design but doesn’t even have hands or a dial — the only thing on the front is a flying tourbillon mechanism to counteract the effects of gravity.”
The watch also won’t offer its wearer the time in a typical fashion. Instead of a glancing at the light-up display with blinking numbers or a readable clock face, users are expected to “sound a minute repeater whose chimes will tell you if you’re running late.” Since the device has no hands or markings, it means the wearer of the watch will likely have to bring the watch up to their ear to precisely count the number of chimes being produced.
Moser said by removing the usual watch features and markings, its design will more closely resemble a “smartwatch on standby.”
Apple released its Series 4 model of its Apple Watch in 2018, and the company continues to sell the previous Series 3 model as well. The Series 4 model boasts a new and improved full-screen display, which is 30 percent larger than its predecessor. It also features improved fitness tracking capabilities, fall detection, and an EKG sensor to monitor the wearer’s heart activity. There is also a totally redesigned digital crown and sapphire crystal in the back of the device. The new device received rave reviews from many technology experts.
Apple is currently the top-selling watch brand in the world and the sales of the watch units are expected to increase to up to 40% in 2019, hitting around 33 million units, a report from 9to5Mac stated. And with numbers like those, it’s not hard to see why other watchmakers would be trying to step up to compete.
“Swiss watchmakers that operate in a price category similar to Apple — the Series 4 starts at $399 — are feeling the pain of Apple’s competition, according to the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry,” a report from the Wall Street Journal explained.
