History repeats itself as the brand ventures to the Chinese market once more to present its new collection to an eastern audience.

Sometimes it seems that there are too many Swiss-based watchmakers out there to name. Believe me, I tried during my early days at Europa Star as an assignment, only to be reminded that I had left some big names off the list. Sure enough, I would learn that the brands I had missed were indeed Swiss, and they were in the luxury watch industry game.

I have learned my lesson by now. Because there are so many luxury watch brands out there, they often seek out markets outside of the relatively wealthier European and American ones to get a piece of the pie. Think, for example, of current brands like Enicar and Titoni. Fine watchmakers in their own right, a few of you might not have heard of them because their main operating focus has always been the Far East.

H. Moser & Cie also used to fit a similar bill. In 1828, Swiss watchmaker Heinrich Moser founded the company in St. Petersburg, Russia. The brand quickly established a reputation of producing elegant and ingenious watches. Soon, they could be seen on wrists across the Russian Empire and along the Silk Road into Central Asia, Persia and China.

The brand has had a strong presence in the east historically. But it was only this year that H. Moser & Cie. celebrated the official launch of the brand in Beijing with an audience of Chinese journalists and exceptional customers.

The objective of the launch was to reignite the link which the elder Moser has established in the nineteenth century. Of course, it also served as an opportunity for the brand to speak directly to key partners in that high-potential market.

The event was a means by which to re-immerse the Chinese market into the world of H. Moser & Cie. The company presented its new 2015 collection, with the star of the show being the sublime Endeavour Perpetual Calendar Funky Blue. The watch features an ingenious system for displaying the month, thanks to an in-house HMC 341. The movement’s double barrels provide up to seven days of power reserve, which can be monitored on the dial. And speaking of the dial, its sky-blue fumé colour is a provocative reinterpretation of the company’s well- known classic watch.

There isn’t a better way for H. Moser & Cie. to demonstrate its entrepreneurial heritage to the Chinese market than with this classic watch. It just makes we wonder why the brand had to reintroduce itself to a market where it has had success historically. Perhaps it simply shows the value of treading the road which heads east, once again. (VJ)