This Chronograph Watch Collab Could’ve Been the Next MoonSwatch

It’s awfully hard to catch lightning in a bottle. But back in 2022, Swatch and Omega managed to pull off such a feat when the two brands released the MoonSwatch.

Landing on the watch industry like a nuclear bomb, the unexpected team-up saw the design and branding of an acclaimed luxury watch — the Omega Speedmaster — made accessible to a far wider audience in the form of an affordable Swatch watch costing less than 1/20th the price of the Omega.

The effects were swift and wide-ranging. The MoonSwatch led to overnight lines in Swatch stores around the globe and became a cultural sensation that reached far beyond the small confines of the watch world.

Photo by Zen Love for Gear Patrol

Its success was twofold: On the one hand, it raised Swatch from near obscurity to massive levels of success. The brand sold two million MoonSwatches last year alone, catapulting it to the 13th largest Swiss watch brand in terms of sales after not even ranking in the top 20 the previous year.

The MoonSwatch also benefitted Omega, with the affordable watch raising awareness of the luxury brand. Speedmaster sales rose markedly following the release of the MoonSwatch, and the publicity Omega received from Swatch is something that can’t easily be bought.

So when I heard that one of my favorite luxury watch brands, H. Moser & Cie., was teaming up with one of the hottest affordable microbrands in the game, Studio Underd0g, I got excited. Might this be the next MoonSwatch, but this time focused solely on the hardcore enthusiast market?

I still think it could’ve been. But that’s not what happened.

H. Moser & Cie. x Studio Underd0g

H. Moser & Cie. x Studio Underd0g Project Passion

• $64,900 at H. Moser & Cie.

A Passion Project

Unveiled today at Geneva Watch Days, and quickly becoming the talk of the show, the Moser x Studio Underd0g collab — collectively dubbed Project Passion — consists of two watches, one from each brand.

The Moser watch is the latest entry in the brand’s ultra-minimalist Endeavour Perpetual Calendar line. It features a purple lacquered base dial with a second 18K yellow gold dial layered on top with a fumé “grand feu” enamel treatment in gold. The movement inside the stainless steel case is Moser’s hand-wound Cal. HMC 800 perpetual calendar, and its impressive haute horological workings are visible through a sapphire caseback.

H. Moser & Cie. x Studio Underd0g

The Studio Underd0g watch is the first in its 03Series, which is effectively the new version of the brand’s original watch, the 01Series. It shares the purple and gold color scheme as the Moser, executed in the same way as on the brand’s 01Series chronographs like the famous Watermel0n, with the difference being the movement used.

While SU’s 01Series watches were powered by a Chinese-made Sea-gull movement, the 03Series uses a Swiss-made monopusher chronograph caliber, the hand-winding Sellita SW510 M.

H. Moser & Cie. x Studio Underd0g

Both watches eschew any branding or text on their dials, allowing each brand’s unique design style to shine on its own, while the caseback of each watch features both brand names. The watches’ purple and gold color scheme is derived from the passion fruit, as the collab is intended to represent the passion of watch enthusiasts.

These watches are both beautiful and are a hell of a lot of fun, and it’s always great to see a collaborative spirit among watch brands. But the online response to this collab has been, let’s say, less than positive.

So what’s the problem?

Opposite Ends of the Spectrum?

H. Moser & Cie. x Studio Underd0g

The collab’s press release says, “two maverick brands from opposite ends of the high-end watch spectrum have united.” And that statement certainly rings true.

On the one hand, you have Moser, a true haute horology brand whose watches start around the $15,000 mark but often go far higher. Other examples of the Endeavour Perpetual Calendar, for example, range in price from CHF 54,000 to CHF 75,000 (~$63,800 – $88,600).

On the other hand, you have Studio Underd0g. The 01Series chronographs retail for just $600. Its other watch, the 02Series field watch, sells for $900. With the introduction of the Sellita SW510 M, it seems likely the 03Series would retail for considerably more — other watches using the movement are priced between $2,000 and $3,000.

H. Moser & Cie. x Studio Underd0g

But even with the uptick in quality, having the Studio Underd0g 03Series Passi0n Fruit priced at ~$2,500 and the Moser Endeavour Perpetual Calendar Passion Fruit offered at ~$65,000 would make a lot of sense for this collab.

That arrangement would offer two watches to two sets of enthusiasts at “opposite ends” of the watch-collecting spectrum. One affordable watch for the everyday collectors, and one ultra-luxury watch for the one-percenters. This, surely, would evoke the “passion” that this collab states to be all about.

This setup could also potentially have a sort of MoonSwatch effect that would benefit both brands. Moser would gain brand awareness among less-wealthy watch enthusiasts, who may then strive to add a Moser somewhere down the line. Studio Underd0g would benefit by having its name associated with a serious luxury brand, thus increasing its legitimacy to collectors on the higher end.

As far as I can see it, everybody wins in that scenario. But, alas, it wasn’t meant to be.

Sticker Shock

H. Moser & Cie. x Studio Underd0g

Instead of making the watches two separate purchases, Project Passion is only available as a set from Moser. It’s limited to 100 pairs of watches with a retail price of $64,900.

Now, that price is nothing crazy for Moser, and collectors of the brand won’t blink twice at the prospect of adding one of these to their collections. But the price is literally more than 100 times more expensive than other Studio Underd0g chronographs, meaning that brand’s core audience has been left out in the cold. And that has rubbed a lot of fans the wrong way.

Take a look at the comments sections on Studio Underd0g’s Instagram posts about the collab and you’ll see a lot of angry watch enthusiasts. “Complete antithesis of the ‘underdog’ brand….who is this for?” one commenter writes. “Cool for super rich people I guess?” writes another. “What’s the ‘passion’ about making a $1,000 watch only available for people that can afford a $60,000 watch as well?” asks another.

The comments are also littered with people claiming they’re unfollowing the brand and will never buy another Studio Underd0g watch, which seems extreme to me, but the point is that people are clearly upset.

Although I don’t believe Studio Underd0g owes anyone anything, I do understand the hate the brand is currently getting online.

With the brand putting out multiple teasers leading up to this release, its core customers were certainly led to believe they would have something to buy at the end of all the build-up, only to eventually learn that it was really a Moser release with a Studio Underd0g watch thrown in like a Happy Meal toy. (No offense toward Studio Underd0g, but if you give me a Moser and a Studio Underd0g that look almost identical, I’m wearing the Moser 99.99% of the time.)

That said, not all responses to the watch have been negative. Plenty of people are enjoying the collab for what it is: a fun team-up between two of watchmaking’s most irreverent brands that no one saw coming. The response to the project is certainly more positive among Moser adherents, and the Moser site crashed for several hours following the collab’s announcement this morning.

H. Moser & Cie. x Studio Underd0g

But even some Studio Underd0g fans appreciate the microbrand striving for new heights. One commenter also smartly points out that this collab is effectively a high-profile way for the brand to debut the 03Series chronograph.

I personally was hoping for two separate watches at two vastly different price points, mainly because I planned on getting the SU to satiate my thirst for Moser until I could save up enough pennies for a Moser Pioneer. I still want a Moser just as badly as ever, so it’s just as well that I’m not tempted to buy this SU and can instead add that money to the future Moser fund.

Photo by Johnny Brayson for Gear Patrol

If nothing else, this collab serves as a reminder that not every watch is for every watch collector. There are tons of ultra-exclusive watches out there at inaccessible price points that are beloved because they do something fun or interesting. The fact that most people can’t buy them is irrelevant.

The Project Passion watches are certainly fun and interesting. I think they just touched a nerve because people were expecting an affordable element and that’s not what they got. It will be interesting to see how the reception of this collab develops in the weeks and months to come.

For now, if you’ve got $65,000 to spend on a watch and are feeling particularly passionate, you can inquire about the collab on Moser’s website.

H. Moser & Cie. x Studio Underd0g

H. Moser & Cie. x Studio Underd0g Project Passion

• $64,900 at H. Moser & Cie.

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