Most athlete watch collaborations follow a predictable formula: bold colors, sponsor logos, motorsport motifs slapped across the dial. Alpine F1 driver Pierre Gasly rejected all of it. After 18 months of intensive collaboration with H. Moser & Cie., he's created something the watch industry rarely sees, an athlete signature piece that tells you nothing about his sport and everything about who he is.
During an exclusive preview presentation ahead of today's launch, Gasly and H. Moser CEO Edouard Meylan revealed the 18-month creative process behind the Streamliner Tourbillon Pierre Gasly. The result arrives in two versions: 100 pieces on chocolate rubber strap at $98,500, and 10 pieces on integrated rose gold bracelet at $148,500. The only racing reference? A discreet ruby at 10 o'clock on the bracelet version, Gasly's career number, chosen because he idolized Zinedine Zidane as a kid.
"I didn't want something too related to my sport, but something representing my lifestyle and who I am," Gasly explained during the launch presentation. "Hopefully people will feel that through the watch, something elegant, chic, wearable on many occasions and environments, which suits my personality."
H. Moser CEO Edouard Meylan remembers their first meeting at Silverstone 18 months ago differently than typical celebrity endorsements. "Pierre had a very clear idea of what he wanted," Meylan recalls. "We offered him dozens of alternatives to challenge him, to push him off the beaten track. But each time, true to his instincts, he returned to this piece."
The manufacture created approximately 100 drawings exploring variations, but Gasly consistently returned to his original vision: a 40mm rose gold Streamliner with what he personally named "Chocolate fumé", an intense, nuanced brown dial created through H. Moser's signature fumé treatment.
"These are colors I like to wear daily," Gasly noted. "In my daily life I love whitish cream, chocolate, and rose gold touches. This difference compared to Alpine watch, which needs to correlate with the team's colors. Here, I could pursue my own liking, these are colors you'd see in my closet most days."
The color choice proved technically challenging. H. Moser's fumé dials require precise execution, and creating this specific chocolate gradient, transitioning from lighter gold tones at center to deeper brown at edges, demanded multiple iterations. The brand's logo appears in transparent lacquer, maintaining the clean aesthetic Gasly insisted upon.
His creative control extended beyond aesthetics. "The tourbillon was one of my first requests," Gasly explained. "Most of my Moser watches have a tourbillon; I find them fascinating. There's something mesmerizing about a tourbillon, the movement itself. It takes me to an appreciation of time and movement."
That fascination stems from parallels with his profession. "There's a parallel with the mechanism and Formula One, it's mesmerizing," he noted. "The precision and focus at the factory amazed me, the attention to detail for perfection -- what we want in F1."
The flying tourbillon at 6 o'clock houses H. Moser's automatic HMC 805 caliber featuring double hairsprings designed in-house by sister company Precision Engineering AG. This configuration compensates for center-of-gravity shifts during expansion, ensuring superior precision and isochronism. The skeletonized rotor in 18k rose gold allows full appreciation of the finishing through the exhibition caseback.
Meylan drew parallels to iconic Formula 1 collaborations from his father's tenure at Audemars Piguet -- the Montoya, the Barrichello watches that became brand legends. "When making a watch for a Formula One driver, you think bold, mechanics, integration of car elements," Meylan observed. "That's not what we did. This is a watch created by Pierre Gasly."
The 10-piece bracelet edition includes unique experiences: owners receive full-size replicas of Gasly's specially designed Singapore Grand Prix helmet that incorporates the watch's design elements, plus Gasly-designed apparel.
"Not many athletes have a watch after themselves, so I feel privileged," Gasly reflected. "For me this piece is emotional. All my inputs respected; it will stay with me for a long time."
The launch timing, October 1st coinciding with Singapore's night race, creates cinematic symmetry. As Meylan described it: "At night, the spotlights, the humid, electric atmosphere, the sound of engines echoing off the buildings. And on Pierre's wrist, this watch. Precise, personal, uncompromising. Just like him."
Available through H. Moser & Cie. authorized dealers worldwide.