ReviewEnter The Metaverse With A New Endeavour: H. Moser & Cie’s Genesis
A 3D-printed ‘pixelated’ titanium bezel and crown, along with a QR code on the sapphire crystal glass… the new H. Moser & Cie. Endeavour Centre Seconds Genesis features all this and more, as the brand enters the metaverse
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Ironically, the luxury watchmaking industry is infamously known to not keep up with the times when adopting new technology. However, despite the world losing faith—or not understanding—the world of cryptocurrency or NFTs (non-fungible tokens), there has been a gradual yet steady increase in the popularity of these technologies in the horology universe. In fact, many watchmaking brands such as H. Moser & Cie. are the early adopters of this exciting technology. Staying true to its pioneering and adventurous founder Heinrich Moser, H. Moser & Cie. became the first independent watch brand to launch an e-commerce and CPO platform back in 2020. Continuing on this objective of conquering ‘web 3.0’, the Swiss watch brand ended 2022 by launching the Genesis Project.
“We are at the dawn of a new technological era. For us, it seemed crucial to evolve with our times and to take a clear stance, play an active role in defining the rules of this still little-known world, whilst we remain humble, and ask the right questions,” explains Edouard Meylan, CEO, H. Moser & Cie. “Entrepreneurship is in our DNA, and we strive to cultivate this philosophy by taking risks and exploring new uncharted territories.”
What Is The Genesis Project?
The Genesis Project is a complete ecosystem that reimagines the future of luxury watches. It offers blockchain product authentication for enhanced multi-level security and transparency, digital asset ownership that gives exclusive privileges, and a metaverse space that showcases the brand’s products and history in an immersive experience. Digital assets in the form of NFTs, like digital artwork or exclusive short ‘time capsule’ videos of the making of the watch and the watchmakers behind it, are part of the offering.
The immersive metaverse experience invites customers to step into a new Moser universe and discover the brand’s manufacturing history, meet the team behind Moser, get early access to future products, etc. This all-in-one ‘web 3.0’ holistic experience is available through a dedicated app that combines physical, digital and virtual dimensions.
Additionally, Moser translates this new venture into the physical world by introducing the Endeavour Centre Seconds Genesis (or 01100111 01100101 0110111001100101 01110011 01101001 01110011, which is ‘Genesis’ in binary code). This timepiece marks the first in a series of three creations (or triptych) yet to be disclosed. This means that anyone who buys a piece from this exclusive 50-piece limited edition will get exclusive access to the subsequent two pieces. Customers who purchase the Endeavour Centre Seconds Genesis will also have access to VIP key tokens associated with the watch. These tokens, stored in a digital wallet, come alive after scanning the QR code on the dial (more on that later). This facility provides early access to purchase limited edition future products, invitations to exclusive physical and digital events, membership of the H. Moser community and many more perks. It reflects the company’s style of offering additional value to its customers within the newly launched Moser universe.
A World Of Collaborations
Moser & Cie. needed help from all avenues to bring this together. The Swiss watch brand partnered with Deloitte Consulting Switzerland that helped mobilise key technology and industry leaders to join and empower the watch brand in shaping a new future for luxury watches. Aura Block Consortium, through Aura SaaS, enables customers to have complete access, traceability and transparency (like certification, warranty, insurance, etc.) regarding their products via blockchain technology. The brand’s partnership with Zurich Switzerland, Crossmint and Salesforce will ensure this new project is smooth sailing.
The Metaverse Watch: Endeavour Centre Seconds Genesis
At first glance, the H. Moser & Cie. Endeavour Centre Seconds Genesis simply looks like a new-age creation, but quite regular as a watch. Only upon closer inspection, one begins to understand the incorporation of a specific aesthetic code that combines technology and tradition. The watch comes in a 40mm sandblasted steel case fitted with a 3D-printed titanium bezel and crown that showcases a pixelated look. Each of the 50 pieces of this limited edition bears a unique QR code engraved on the sapphire crystal glass, which allows for authentication of the timepiece via the app.
The Vantablack dial underneath, combined with the hand-stitched grey kudu leather strap, works perfectly against the overall greyscale look of the watch. The see-through caseback provides a fantastic view of the in-house automatic calibre HMC 200, which clocks a power reserve of three days. Each exclusive timepiece and digital asset under the Genesis Project will benefit from unrivalled insurance service.
This watch may not be the first timepiece from a fine-watchmaking maison, but it definitely marks a significant step towards the luxury watch industry entering the metaverse in a larger way. It’s interesting to say the least, and it seems it’ll be an essential part of the future as the world gets caught in the web 3.0.
