Fighting For Independence

Edouard and Bertrand Meylan, the brothers at the helm of H. Moser & Cie., look back on the risks and rewards of running a niche independent watch brand.

- Alvin Wong

IF THERE IS one thing a watch enthusiast can count on when speaking with the owners of H. Moser & Cie., it is their disarming candour. From unfiltered recollections of building up a centuries-old brand that they took over a decade ago to forthright opinions on the state of the watch business, brothers Edouard and Bertrand Meylan—CEO of H. Moser & Cie and its parent company MELB Luxe Subsidiaries, respectively— do not shy away from frank conversations.

In a way, H. Moser & Cie. operates with a similar spirit. Though the brand was established in 1828 by Swiss watchmaker Heinrich Moser, H. Moser & Cie.’s modern history was set in motion only in 2012, when it was acquired by its current owner, MELB Holding.

And in this time, H. Moser & Cie. has been restructured, reinvigorated and remoulded to become the creative and iconoclastic brand it is now.

“I don’t think we had an idea that the brand would become what it is today,” says Edouard. “We wanted to refresh the brand, that’s for sure. How we would do it and what form it would take, that was difficult to say. There were a lot of experiments, trying, failing, trying again and then figuring out what worked.”

It is safe to say that 12 years on, H. Moser & Cie. has found its footing. The brand’s succinct tagline, ‘very rare’, encapsulates the exclusive nature of its releases, from the watches’ limited quantities to their distinct styles that blend contemporary and retro aesthetics with time-honoured technical refinement and in-house manufacturing prowess.