What HAUTLENCE does

HAUTLENCE is an independent Swiss haute-horlogerie manufacture founded in 2004 in Neuchâtel by Guillaume Tetu and now legally operated as Moser Schaffhausen AG under the MELB Holding umbrella alongside sister brand H. Moser & Cie. The company designs, develops, and sells limited-edition mechanical watches — typically capped at 28 pieces per series with prices ranging from CHF 30,000 to over CHF 120,000 — concentrated on innovative time-display complications. Its proprietary in-house calibres include the D50 (linear jumping hours), A82 (spherical jumping hours on a gyroscopic three-axis rotation), B30 and B60 (wandering hours), D30 and D31 (flying tourbillon), D51 (central cylindrical-hairspring tourbillon) and A20 (jumping minutes with locomotive arm). HAUTLENCE's products are built around novel mechanical architectures that replace traditional hands with rotating chains, retrograde displays, jumping apertures or orbital spheres, supported by in-house hairspring expertise, grade 5 titanium and sapphire components, and — in the most recent concept pieces — 3D-printed case elements with PVD coating.

The business is structured around made-to-order manufacturing: customers reserve through the e-boutique, undergo a KYC review, are contacted by a concierge service, and pay in full prior to production. Distribution combines the direct concierge channel with a curated global network of authorized retailers (Bucherer, Chronopassion, Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons, Ethos, Ishida Omotesando, Westime, Tourneau-Bucherer, Geneva Seal, Stephen Silver). Marketing relies on annual concept-piece unveils at Watches & Wonders and Geneva Watch Days, a Protagonists video series, and editorial press relations. Revenue also derives from after-sales service and warranty, and selected collections carry NFTs that generate a 5% royalty on secondary resale. The end customer is a narrow segment of high-net-worth watch collectors seeking technical novelty and exclusivity; commercial success is defined less by volume than by brand-led pricing power and category prestige.

Name

HAUTLENCE

Legal name

Moser Schaffhausen AG

Website

https://hautlence.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

HAUTLENCE is an independent Swiss haute-horlogerie manufacture producing limited-edition (max 28 pieces) mechanical watches with proprietary jumping-hours, wandering-hours and tourbillon complications, sold through a KYC-gated concierge e-boutique and a curated global retailer network to high-net-worth collectors at CHF 30,000 to CHF 120,000+.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Haute Horlogerie Mechanical Watches

NAICS

Jewelry, Watch, Precious Stone, and Precious Metal Merchant Wholesalers (423940)

SIC

Wholesale-Jewelry, Watches, Precious Stones & Metals (5094)

akta.pro primary industry

Complications & Haute Horlogerie (CRAKADAG)

Keywords

• Haute horlogerie watches
• Luxury mechanical timepieces
• Independent Swiss watchmaking
• Limited edition complications
• In-house movement manufacture

Headquarters

HQ city

Neuhausen am Rheinfall

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Luxury Watch Sales: One-time purchase of haute horlogerie timepieces at premium price points (CHF 30,000 to CHF 120,000+). Watches are manufactured on demand following order confirmation. Full payment required before manufacture or dispatch.
2. After-Sales Service and Warranty: Guarantee and service offerings for HAUTLENCE watches, with authorized service centers providing maintenance and repairs.
3. NFT/Augmented Products (Select Collections): Certain collections may be offered together with non-fungible tokens (Tokens) that may grant advantages such as access to exclusive events. The Seller receives 5% on each resale of Tokens.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

HAUTLENCE designs, develops, and manufactures limited-edition haute horlogerie mechanical watches featuring proprietary in-house movements and innovative time-display complications, including jumping hours, spherical jumping hours, wandering hours, and tourbillons. Each series is capped at a maximum of 28 pieces and built on demand, sold primarily through a direct e-boutique with concierge service and a curated network of authorized retailers worldwide at price points ranging from CHF 30,000 to CHF 120,000+.

Product overview

HAUTLENCE is an independent Swiss watchmaker offering a portfolio of high-complication mechanical timepieces. The product line includes: the Linear collection (Series 1-3 plus Giacomo Agostini limited edition) featuring Linear Jumping Hours with double hairspring flying tourbillon; the Sphere collection (Series 1-4) with spherical jumping hours rotating on three axes; the Helix Series 1 with central cylindrical hairspring tourbillon and dual vertical retrogrades; the Vagabonde collection (Series 4) with wandering hours and in-house B30 automatic movement; the Vagabonde Tourbillon collection (Series 3-5) combining wandering hours with flying tourbillon; the Vagabonde × Black Badger collaboration featuring photoluminescent materials; the Concept Pieces line (RETROVISION 47, 85, 64) as experimental limited editions; the HLXX 20th Anniversary edition; and the Kubera collection (Series 1) with jumping hours and peripheral minutes. All pieces are limited editions (maximum 28 pieces for standard collections, 3-20 pieces for special editions) and are manufactured in Schaffhausen under the MELB Holding umbrella alongside H. Moser & Cie.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Linear Series 1 Haute horlogerie timepiece with in-house D50 calibre featuring Linear Jumping Hours complication and double hairspring flying tourbillon; first HAUTLENCE complication created after relocation to Schaffhausen, limited to 28 pieces.
• Linear Series 2 Linear Jumping Hours complication with double hairspring flying tourbillon in PVD-black-coated case with black rubber strap; limited to 28 pieces at CHF 63,000.
• Linear Series 3 Linear Jumping Hours complication with double hairspring flying tourbillon paired with a red rubber strap; limited edition.
• Linear Giacomo Agostini Tribute edition to motorcycle legend Giacomo Agostini with colour palette inspired by his racing bikes; powered by in-house D50 calibre with Agenhor module and Linear Jumping Hours; limited to 28 pieces at CHF 64,900.
• Vagabonde Series 4 First watch created after relocation to Schaffhausen with in-house B30 automatic movement and wandering hours display; slimmer, water-ready architecture with integrated strap; limited to 28 pieces at CHF 30,000.
• Vagabonde × Black Badger Collaboration edition with lume artist James Thompson featuring sculpted photoluminescent inlays forming a labyrinth motif; limited to 28 pieces at CHF 33,000.
• Vagabonde Tourbillon Series 3 Wandering hours display with rotating satellite orbiting a central minutes ring combined with a 60-second flying tourbillon; sculpted superconductor dial; limited to 28 pieces at CHF 65,000.
• Vagabonde Tourbillon Series 4 Wandering hours and flying tourbillon in a rectangular case with 3D-printed tessellation dial inspired by Cubism and contemporary architecture.
• Vagabonde Tourbillon Series 5 Wandering hours, central minute disc, and flying tourbillon at six o'clock with a crystalline web dial inspired by parametric façades and load-bearing lattices.
• Sphere Series 1 First series featuring spherical jumping hours with blue-coated titanium orb rotating on three axes via conical-gear differential; award-winning innovation; limited to 28 pieces at CHF 66,000.
• Sphere Series 2 Spherical jumping hours and retrograde minute complications in a black PVD-coated case with black jumping sphere; limited edition.
• Sphere Series 3 Titanium case with violet jumping sphere, fully skeletonized dial, retrograde minute hand and 180° sector; awarded the GPHG 2023 Innovation Prize; limited to 28 pieces at CHF 69,000.
• Sphere Series 4 Sand-coloured textured sphere with skeletonized dial in an olive green and sand palette inspired by natural materials; limited to 28 pieces worldwide.
• Helix Series 1 Central cylindrical-hairspring tourbillon with dual vertical retrogrades for jumping hours and minutes in a smaller case without lugs, water-resistant to 100 meters; limited to 28 pieces at CHF 75,000.
• Kubera Series 1 Jumping hours with peripheral minutes module developed with Agenhor; integrated steel bracelet with geometric cascading construction; powered by self-winding B60 calibre; limited edition at CHF 32,900.
• RETROVISION 47 First RETROVISION concept piece reimagining watches from a 1940s perspective, with flying tourbillon hidden behind a speaker grille acting as resonator; grade 5 titanium with hand-painted shell; limited to 10 pieces at CHF 60,000.
• RETROVISION 85 Concept piece inspired by 1980s transformable robot, including a matching robot table clock; wandering hours with three orbiting hour satellites and tourbillon; limited to 8 pieces at CHF 78,000.
• RETROVISION 64 Concept piece inspired by 1960s science fiction, transforming a television communication device into haute horlogerie; in-house D50 calibre with linear jumping hours and one-minute flying tourbillon; 3D-printed titanium case with partial copper-colored PVD coating; limited to 3 pieces at CHF 120,000.
• HLXX Anniversary Edition 20th-anniversary limited edition returning to the original HL01 calibre with jumping minutes and flicking hours via locomotive arm; smaller refined titanium case; limited to 20 pieces at CHF 39,900.
• After-Sales Service and Warranty Guarantee and service offerings for HAUTLENCE watches, with authorized service centers providing maintenance and repairs for timepieces purchased through the brand's direct or authorized channels.

Quantifiable outcome

• GPHG 2023 Innovation Prize winner for Sphere

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• AgenhorcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Movement development partnership for jumping hours and peripheral minutes modules. Collaborated on the D50 calibre for Linear series and B60 calibre for Kubera series.
• Black Badger (James Thompson)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2023Collaboration on the Vagabonde × Black Badger watch. James Thompson, lume artist-engineer, co-created a dial with sculpted solid photoluminescent inlays forming a labyrinth motif - stealth by day, electric glow by night. The watch is limited to 28 pieces at CHF 33,000.
• H. Moser & Cie.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSister company under MELB Holding. Both brands share the home in Schaffhausen since 2020. Expert assembly by H. Moser & Cie. watchmakers for HAUTLENCE movements. Shared synergies with Precision Engineering AG.
• Precision Engineering AGcoreTechnology or IntegrationComponent manufacturing arm of the group. The 2020 consolidation aligned HAUTLENCE closely with this supplier, enhancing in-house capabilities.
• Guillaume TetuflagshipOthersFounder of HAUTLENCE in 2004. Returned as Chairman, revisiting the origins of the independent manufacture shaped by conviction and challenge.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• DeWitt: Independent Geneva-based haute horlogerie manufacturer producing highly limited, technically innovative mechanical watches with distinctive complications—overlapping in production philosophy and price tier with HAUTLENCE.
• MB&F: Independent Geneva-based haute horlogerie creator known for avant-garde, sculptural 'machines' on limited production runs, directly comparable to HAUTLENCE in scale, collector clientele, and category-defying approach to time display.
• Urwerk: Independent Swiss watchmaker pioneering radical time-display mechanisms (wandering hours, satellite hours) at ultra-low production volumes. Closest analogue to HAUTLENCE's linear and spherical jumping hours innovations in both technical ambition and collector positioning.
• Greubel Forsey: Independent Swiss haute horlogerie manufacture producing extremely limited numbers of hand-finished, high-complication timepieces. Comparable in exclusivity-first philosophy, technical tourbillon innovation, and pricing band to HAUTLENCE.
• Voutilainen: Independent Finnish-Swiss watchmaker producing ultra-limited hand-finished haute horlogerie pieces with in-house movements, competing for the same collector-driven, made-to-order, prestige segment as HAUTLENCE.
• F.P. Journe: Highly regarded independent Swiss watchmaker producing limited annual runs of in-house calibres, serving the same elite HNW collector base and competing for similar GPHG and auction mindshare as HAUTLENCE.
• H. Moser & Cie. Sister brand under MELB Holding sharing HAUTLENCE's Schaffhausen operations, component manufacturing via Precision Engineering AG, and watchmaker assembly. Both are independent Swiss haute horlogerie marques focused on limited production and distinctive complications.

Broad incumbents

• Richard Mille: Established ultra-luxury Swiss watchmaker operating at much higher volumes than HAUTLENCE but addressing the same HNW/collector segment with proprietary complications, limited editions, and premium ASPs in the CHF 100K+ range.
• Audemars Piguet: Major Swiss haute horlogerie manufacture with deep historical ties to HAUTLENCE via the Meylan family (former AP CEO Georges-Henri Meylan owns MELB Holding). Serves the same high-end collector base but at materially larger scale across broader collections.

Emerging players

• Christiaan van der Klaauw: Small independent Dutch haute horlogerie maker focused on astronomical complications in very limited annual production, sharing HAUTLENCE's positioning as a niche, complication-led independent watchmaking brand.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hautlence

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about HAUTLENCE