Cheesy 'Swiss Mad' watch on offer for one million dollars

A Swiss watchmaker on Thursday unveiled a one-million-euro "Swiss Mad" wristwatch with a case made of local winter cheese and a dial recalling the nation's distinctive red-and-white flag.

The tongue-in-cheek edition by H.Moser targets new strictures on watchmakers using the "Swiss Made" label who now have to source 60 percent of the components domestically against 50 percent earlier.

The new law came into force at the start of this year. H.Moser has dropped the "Swiss Made" moniker since and said it would also release "the most Swiss watch ever created."

The dial is smoked red with the four white lacquered indexes indicating every quarter of an hour. The cheese fringing the case is Vacherin Mont d'Or medaille d'or, which is made in winter, and comes from the same village as Moser CEO Edouard Meylan.

It is fortified with resin to hold up to use and time. Moser said given the new rules "that are lax and insufficient, we respond with derision." The steep price tag -- 1,081,291 francs (1.0 million dollars) -- is a reference to the date the Swiss Confederation was set up: August 1, 1291.

"All proceeds from the sale of this watch will be used to create a fund to support independent Swiss watchmaking suppliers currently suffering under the difficult economic situation and outsourcing to Asia," Meylan said.

The "Swiss Mad Watch" will be presented at the four-day international luxury watch show -- Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie -- which will be held in Geneva from Monday. (AFP)