Swiss Apple Watch clone gets mechanical spinning charging wheel

As smartwatches continue to nibble the market share of traditional mechanical watches, Swiss watchmaker H. Moser & Cie sticks to “if you can’t beat them, join them with the latest version of his Apple-inspired Swiss Alp watch which now even includes a mechanical spin loading icon.

When the Swiss Alp watch debuted in 2016, it was even introduced with a ironic video parodying Apple’s product launches. But it wasn’t just Apple’s marketing that H. Moser was doing singles. Wwith its boxy case, the Swiss Alp Watch looked like an Apple Watch clone, but only on the outside. Inside was a genuine Swiss movement which needed to be wound up to keep the only “application” of the watch –tell the time – work. Only 50 of these were produced, with a price tag of $ 25,000 to appeal to watch enthusiasts who want a wearable statement about not jumping on the smartwatch bandwagon.

Five years later, H. Moser revealed what he calls the Final update of the Swiss Alp watch—Another jab in Apple’s annual upgrade cycle for its smart wearable devices. The always-the visible side of the original Swiss Alp Watch is a death gift that it wasn’t from Apple, but it’s harder to tell the final upgrade apart from the more recent iterations of Apple Watch.

The reflective face of the original Swiss Alp Watch was painted using the same light absorbent (over 99% of visible light) Vantablack paint which prompted a museum visitor to fall into an eight foot hole that looked like it had been painted on the floor. Combined with black painted hour and minute hands, it makes the final upgrade look like it wears a real OLED display.

While the first Swiss Alp Watch used a smaller traditional dial to display the movements of the watch’s second hand, on the final upgrade, it’s been replaced by a spinning gradient disc revealed by a series of openings that recreates the charging icon most often seen on Apple smartphones. But under the face, you will find H. Moser’s caliber HMC 324 movement which runs for approximately 96 hours between windings.

Like the original, the Swiss Alp Watch, The final upgrade is limited to just 50 pieces—But they are now priced at $ 30,800. For so much money, you can buy almost 40 of the most expensive Apple Watch Series 6 models and wear a different one every day for over a month. But while the final upgrade lacks apps, it will run longer than the Apple Watch before it needs a power-on.