MIH Watch / Mechanik2

The original MIH Watch was conceived in 2005 by Ludwig Oechslin (then conservator at the Musée International d'Horlogerie), produced by master watchmaker Paul Gerber, designed by industrial designer Christian Gafner, and project-managed by Beat Weinmann. A fundraiser for the museum, it was famously sold through a newspaper — with Oechslin signing each one — and available exclusively at the MIH and Embassy stores in Lucerne and St. Moritz.

The movement uses a Valjoux 7750 base with Oechslin's annual calendar module of just 9 additional parts; Gerber suggested upgrading to the 7750 for its higher torque, converted the two-pusher chronograph to a monopusher, and relocated the minute counter to the caseback — visible through a sapphire aperture. The Mechanik2 is a subsequent edition led solely by Christian Gafner, sharing the same minimalist philosophy and Oechslin's calendar module, now in a 42mm Grade 5 titanium case (13.7mm), with the 30-minute chronograph counter moved to the front dial. Note: Oechslin and Gerber formally distanced themselves from the Mechanik2 in a joint press release.

The Mechanik2's backstory is more contested than its minimalist dial suggests. Oechslin's original challenge to himself — design a watch that displays all the necessary information at a glance — dates to 2001–2003, when he hand-built a brass prototype of the first one-line annual calendar watch, work that fed directly into his founding of Ochs und Junior in 2006. Production of the original MIH Watch ceased in Lucerne in 2020; Christian Gafner, the designer of the original piece, subsequently acquired the rights from retailer Embassy Jewel AG and set out to bring the watch back for a new generation. By his own account on the Mechanik2 website, he first sought to reunite the original team, but neither the museum nor Oechslin nor Gerber were willing to participate — so he developed his own solutions independently. Press coverage at launch nonetheless described the Mechanik2's annual calendar module as Oechslin's design carried forward, a characterisation that appears to have precipitated the unusually blunt joint statement: in September 2022 the MIH, Oechslin, and Gerber issued a formal press release stating they wished to distance themselves from the Mechanik2 by name. Collectors have also noted that the Mechanik2 arrived at a price roughly 60% above the original once its lost charitable purpose (the proceeds no longer benefit the museum) is factored in. Whatever the resolution of that dispute, both watches remain touchstones of extreme mechanical minimalism — proof that a calendar, a monopusher chronograph, and total legibility can be achieved with a module of just nine additional parts.