Someone's made a watch out of cheese and it's selling for nearly $1.3 million

Make Swiss Made Great Again


Article heading image for Someone's made a watch out of cheese and it's selling for nearly $1.3 million

Swiss watchmaker H. Moser crafted the timepiece as a protest against new legislation. It's a satirical take on new rules placed on the country who use the 'Swiss made' moniker.

Manufacturers now have to source 60 per cent of the components domestically, up from 50 per cent previously. The law came in at the start of the year.

H. Moser, whose watches are created from 95 per cent Swiss-sourced materials, said in a statement on its website that the law was "too lenient, providing no guarantee, creating confusion and encouraging abuses of the system".

CEO Edouard Meylan, who comes from the same village as the cheese, had some strong words to say on the situation.

"Our watch sends a clear message to the Swiss watchmaking industry, the authorities and watch enthusiasts: the Swiss Made label is meaningless," he said.

The Schaffhausen-based company is selling its cheese watch with a strap made from cowhide. It said it was the "obvious choice"  in keeping with the dairy theme.

Its outer casing, which encircles the abstract red and white flag Swiss in the center, is made from a cheese called Vacherin Mont d'Or medaille d'or.

And the detail far surpasses the watch and name itself – even the price tag pays homage to Switzerland's watchmaking roots. The price in francs, 1,081,291, is a reference to the date the Swiss Confederation was set up, back on August 1 1291.

All proceeds from the sale of the watch will go towards funding independent Swiss watchmaking. Suppliers are apparently struggling under a difficult economic situation and outsourcing to Asia, according to Meylan.

23 January 2017




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