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Swiss watchmaker pokes fun at Apple Watch with $25,000 mechanical imitation & Apple-style video

swiss-alp-watch

The Swiss watch industry hasn’t always seemed sure how to respond to the Apple Watch, some companies dismissing it, others suggesting that it will increase the market for traditional watches by getting a new generation of people used to wearing things on their wrists.

One company, though, has gone as far as creating a $24,900 mechanical imitation of the Apple Watch in white gold, complete with Apple-style promotional video (below) …

The Swiss Alp Watch from luxury watchmaker H. Moser & Cie is apparently not a joke: watch blog Hodinkee says that it really does exist and you can buy one of the 50 pieces the company is making. A transparent rear panel allows you to see the mechanism in action.

The Swiss Alp Watch does not allow you to make calls, or send messages to share the latest gossip; it does not give you the option to send beautiful sketches you have created on a two-inch screen or to share your heart rate. It does much more than that: it lets you reconnect to what matters in life. It takes you back to sharing emotions with your nearest and dearest without a filter, interface or embellishment. Most importantly, it is something you can pass on to your children one day without having to upgrade it!

We’re not quite sure who will accept the company’s invitation to “upgrade to a mechanical watch,” or what Apple’s lawyers will make of it, but you can check it out in the video below.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6TWWv8yd8c]

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Comments

  1. 89p13 - 8 years ago

    :) Good parody – but I’d rather invest my $$$$ than buy one. YMMV

  2. elme26bih - 8 years ago

    Inspiration is one thing and I think it’s ok. But to imitate is really disrespectful.

    • realgurahamu - 8 years ago

      Imitation is the cincerest Form of flattery. H Moser are only pushing the Apple watch sales by doing this – especially considering the price of the imitation

      • elme26bih - 8 years ago

        Ask the design team of Apple about this form of flattery. I think they’re really pissed about this form of flattery.

        Its really really, really hard for every (good) designer or design team to create a great and useful design. When somebody is imitating like this, it’s for every designer / design team JUST FRUSTRATING and most of them are angry.

  3. Kent Zwayer - 8 years ago

    Humorous, the best part is the sound effect at the very end, cute.

  4. triankar - 8 years ago

    They certainly have a point about this being passable to your children without it needing upgrades, but at 25K a pop, I’ve got better ways to invest money

  5. rogifan - 8 years ago

    It’s quite amusing how obsessed everyone is with Apple. The smart ones in the tech press keep telling us this and that Apple product is a failure and then we see things like this and gold laptops at CES.

  6. JBDragon - 8 years ago

    Did you hear at the end “Get a Life!”? Oh please, why would I spend that kind of money on a copy of a Apple Watch! I stopped wearing watches years ago when i got my first dumb phone. I figured why have 2 clocks on me. I now have the Apple Watch, but because it does so much more then show the time, like a quick glance to see what the temp is outside before I go out, maybe raining soon. I know if I need a jacket or not before heading out the door. It’s all the little things that make the Apple Watch great. It sure as hell will never get me to buy a plain old tell me the time only watch. Let alone some costly watch.

    One of the things I really like you don’t normally do on normal watches, is the simplicity of swapping out the band. I have a number of bands myself. It can completely change the look just doing that. Looking at this watch from the picture, it doesn’t look like the band even comes off the hard way. Just no thanks on this thing. If anything, it’ll sell more Apple watches.

    • Doug Aalseth - 8 years ago

      I also stopped wearing a watch some years ago when I found it redundant. So far though, the Apple Watch hasn’t been compelling enough for me to look at going back. Maybe by v.5 but so far no.

  7. rtdunham - 8 years ago

    Clever and funny ad poking Apple for its marketing hyperbole.

  8. twelve01 - 8 years ago

    They’re having fun, and the fact that it’s mechanical makes it more compelling. With gears visible through the back crystal, it sort of feels like a high end steam punk version of the Apple Watch. At the very least, it’s just further evidence that Apple nailed the design.

  9. Jake Becker - 8 years ago

    Pretty salty.

  10. rettun1 - 8 years ago

    I’m not sure sure if “Alp” is already a line of existing Swiss watches, but saying “Alp Watch” out loud sounds far too similar to “Apple Watch”. Looks similar, sounds similar, ad is similar; unapologetically cloned.

  11. jsbpepe - 8 years ago

    From their website:
    “With more than 6 million units sold in 2015, producing a turnover in excess of 6 billion dollars, the smartwatch market exploded in the past 12 months, driven by the giants of the electronics industry. With R&D budgets of more than 8 billion dollars, a figure higher than the turnover of even the largest Swiss watchmaking group, the market leaders have barely begun, and they will once again revolutionise this market and change consumer behaviour. Faced with the threat of these heavyweights, there are a number of ways a Swiss watch company could react. They could do nothing, the course most watch brands are adopting; they could take a short-term, opportunistic approach to combine tradition with technology, or, lastly, they could fight for the values underpinning the reputation of several centuries of Swiss watchmaking. This last path is the one that H. Moser & Cie. has decided to pursue, and the Swiss Alp Watch is the symbol of this fighting spirit.
    As the challenge of the smartwatch emerged, it threw Swiss watchmaking into turmoil. However, the complete lack of a response from most market players is remarkable in itself. Doing nothing and waiting for the threat to pass is certainly a dangerous course, but it is less offensive to Swiss watchmaking than the opportunists’ approach of combining traditional, high-end watchmaking with already-obsolete technology such as connected bracelets, NFC/RFID chips and other outmoded interfaces. These attempts are bound to fail, due to the lack of resources, vision and a captive market. The future of Swiss haute horlogerie will be bright, provided it continues to innovative and be creative, while focussing on its inherent values of quality and tradition.”

    http://www.h-moser.com/en/technology

  12. abdmarcos - 8 years ago

    First they laugh, then they cry….. ; )

  13. srgmac - 8 years ago

    That is beautiful…But yeah this stuff is for people who have 25 grand to throw around on a weekend in Vegas. Not exactly the same type of customers who are shopping for the Apple Watch.

  14. dwsolberg - 8 years ago

    I’ve noticed that companies that spend money to mock Apple tend to be on the brink of a huge fall in profitability. There’s a sense of desperation combined with a lack of understanding of why they are flailing.

  15. fasouka - 8 years ago

    Apple’s answer will be to release an ‘Alp’ watch face!

  16. bb1111116 - 8 years ago

    The only benefit to the Alp imitation imo is that it could give Apple new ideas about watch faces.

  17. scumbolt2014 - 8 years ago

    #fail

  18. varera (@real_varera) - 8 years ago

    pathetic… swiss watch industry is losing to smartwatches, but so far any attempt to catch on is failing. and this one is pathetic

  19. Mad Barbax - 8 years ago

    The main message is “get a life!!!”

Author

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Ben Lovejoy

Ben Lovejoy is a British technology writer and EU Editor for 9to5Mac. He’s known for his op-eds and diary pieces, exploring his experience of Apple products over time, for a more rounded review. He also writes fiction, with two technothriller novels, a couple of SF shorts and a rom-com!


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