Back in 2016, H. Moser & Cie. unveiled the first Swiss Alp Watch, whose name and design paid a cheeky homage to the world leader in the burgeoning smartwatch category. Five years later, the smartwatch or “connected watch” has been firmly established in the overall market, and Apple now holds the title of world’s biggest watchmaker, yet the early dire predictions of such devices supplanting traditional mechanical timepieces never materialized. Thus, perhaps feeling a sense of “mission accomplished,” Moser now writes the final chapter in the irreverent saga of the Swiss Alp Watch, releasing the aptly named “Final Upgrade” version, a unique conceptual piece with a tech-inspired twist.

The watch’s softly squared case, measuring 38.2 mm by 44 mm, is made of black DLC-coated steel and its dial is made of Vantablack, a material touted as ?the blackest black ever produced by artificial means.? Composed of tiny carbon nanotubes, Vantablack absorbs up to 99.965 percent of all light, making it ideal for scientific applications like telescopes and military ones like camouflage. As on all of Moser’s concept watches, the dial is ultra-minimalist, eschewing even a brand logo, with leaf-shaped black hands that contribute to the monochrome look, evoking its Apple-made doppelganger in standby mode. Reinforcing this aesthetic, and setting this Alp Watch apart from its predecessors, is the clever offset seconds display at 6 oR...