【Seoul, South】Moser & Cie., the Ultra-Luxury Watch Worn by Facebook CEO Zuckerberg, Enters Seoul Market… “Targeting Korea with Rarity”

Swiss watchmaker Moser & Cie., with over 200 years of history, is unveiling its fifth global boutique in Korea.

On May 13, the day before the opening, Moser & Cie. announced its strategy for the Korean market in Seoul through a partnership with Loca, the jewelry & watch chain of the Italian Damiani Group. The Moser & Cie. boutique is scheduled to open in the B1 East building of the Galleria Department Store in Gangnam, Seoul.
Damiani and Moser & Cie. officially announced the opening of the first standalone boutique in Korea at a meeting held at The Shilla Hotel in Seoul. Loca, which distributes luxury jewelry and watches under the Damiani Group, will handle Moser & Cie.’s domestic distribution.

The event was attended by Giorgio Damiani, Vice Chairman of the Damiani Group; Edouard Meylan, CEO of Moser & Cie.; Nicolas Hofmann, Sales Director of Moser & Cie.; and Oh Dong-joon, Country Manager of Damiani Korea, who introduced the background of the Korean entry, brand history, and product lineup.

Taking the microphone, Edouard Meylan, CEO of Moser & Cie., began, “Our company is over 200 years old and present in 40 markets worldwide. People wonder why Korea, why open a store now?” He explained, “We attempted to enter a few years ago, but it was premature. However, now is truly the right time, so we are entering after careful preparation.”
According to CEO Meylan, Korea’s status in the Swiss watch industry, to which Moser & Cie. belongs, is around 11th globally. He noted that the growth of the luxury watch and jewelry industry is significant enough to open a fifth boutique, surpassing Europe, China, and the Middle East, which have much larger wealth scales. Moser & Cie. itself ranks only 35th in sales among Swiss watch brands but was among the top five fastest-growing brands last year. The sales growth of Damiani over the past five years, revealed by Oh Dong-joon, Country Manager of Damiani Korea, solidly supports the background for Moser & Cie.’s domestic entry.

Moser & Cie. is an independent watch manufacturer founded by Heinrich Moser in 1828. Watches produced at its headquarters in Neuhausen am Rheinfall, Canton Schaffhausen, Switzerland, are characterized by technical prowess, innovation, and rarity. Approximately 120 employees develop and produce all products, and all watches are equipped with 20 types of in-house developed HMC movements. Only about 4,000 pieces are made per year, a level lower than high-end brands like Audemars Piguet, Patek Philippe, and A. Lange & Söhne. Representative product lines include Streamliner, Endeavour, Venturer, and Heritage.

At the meeting, the boutique-exclusive ‘Streamliner Tourbillon Skeleton Boutique Edition’, priced in the 200 million KRW range, with only 17 pieces worldwide and just one introduced in Korea, was unveiled. It is an ultra-precise watch made of 18-carat yellow gold with a full skeleton structure, allowing a clear view of the intricately moving movement through the transparent dial.

Moser & Cie. watches have no logo on the front. This clearly differentiates them from products that prominently display their brand at first glance. CEO Meylan smiled and said, “Without a logo, it’s not a watch you recognize at a glance; you need courage to buy it.” He added, “We have absolutely no sponsorships with stars, but recently Meta’s Zuckerberg purchased and wore a Streamliner, and Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber, and members of the band U2 have also bought our watches.”