It started out like any other day at the SIHH: wake up early after a late night; make sure that the day’s published story is under control; get ready; and – above all – don’t forget to wind my watch.

Generally I do all this on a given morning with some loud rock and roll playing in the background to set the tone for the day, which I always hope to begin in an energetic, interesting, and dynamic way.

On this particular morning I’m sure I was listening to Def Leppard’s latest release “Let’s Go.” But a little later in the day, the constant music that plays in my head changed stations to U2 – and for good reason.

One of our appointments later that day was with H. Moser & Cie to have a close look at the new timepieces being introduced at the 2016 SIHH (see Blue For You: H. Moser & Cie Endeavour Perpetual Calendar Heritage Limited Edition for one of them).

From left to right at SIHH 2016: Georges-Henri Meylan, president of H. Moser & Cie and Hautlence parent company MELB Holding; Edouard Meylan, CEO of H. Moser & Cie, and U2 bassist Adam Clayton

Just as we were exiting the booth, who should walk up but Adam Clayton from the band U2. Though I knew of the brand’s burgeoning friendship with the U2 bassist, I was unaware that he would be visiting the fair in Geneva.

What struck me first was the stylish look of his outfit. This is perhaps an odd thing to express, but when I think of Adam Clayton the 1980s look of the band generally pops into my head (formative years and all that). Barring that, it’s usually stage garb that I would be familiar with.

At any rate, the unusually well put together outfit he sported on this day expressing just the barest hint of rock and roll prompted a fairly immediate look at his wrist (kneejerk reaction in my case anyway) to see if he was equally as well dressed there – and to my utter delight I found that he was.

H. Moser & Cie Endeavour Perpetual Calendar in platinum on the wrist of U2 bassist Adam Clayton at the 2016 SIHH

Clayton was wearing the H. Moser & Cie Endeavour Perpetual Calendar in platinum with a grey/black dial the brand calls “ardoise” (reference number 1341-0300 if you are keeping track). I wore this very watch for a month last year (see H. Moser & Cie. Endeavour Perpetual Calendar On The Wrist).

When Clayton met Moser

Clayton has been described as a “reluctant” rock star by music press over the years, and my short conversation with him shed some light on this description. While he seemed perfectly comfortable in the surely unusual surroundings, he was reserved in a pleasant British sort of way (his family originally hailed from England before moving to the Dublin area when he was five years old).

U2 bassist Adam Clayton with the author at the 2016 SIHH

A mutual friend of both Clayton and H. Moser & Cie CEO Edouard Meylan introduced them to each other about 18 months ago. Meylan, also a fan of U2, invited Clayton – who told me that he already owns a few nice watches, which he has often bought on travels – to Schaffhausen to visit the Moser facilities. And they became friends.

While it is most probably mutual interests in music and impassioned mechanics that kindled this relationship, at least from H. Moser & Cie’s side it doesn’t hurt that U2 is not only one of the world’s biggest music acts, but also one that appeals to a multi-generational, multi-cultural audience.

And, honestly, I think that Clayton showed excellent taste in choosing to be friendly with this particular brand. The platinum Endeavour Perpetual Calendar, though it may not look like it from the outside with its restrained design, is pure rock and roll on the inside with its dynamic mechanics.

H. Moser & Cie Endeavour Concept Watch Fumé (left) on the wrist of Edouard Meylan and Endeavour Perpetual Calendar in platinum on the wrist of U2 bassist Adam Clayton at the 2016 SIHH

For more information, please visit www.h-moser.com/endeavour-perpetual-calendar.

Quick Facts Endeavour Perpetual Calendar
Case: 40.8 x 11.05 mm, platinum
Movement: manually wound Caliber HMC 341 with seven-day power reserve (twin spring barrels) and Straumann (in-house) hairspring and pallet fork and escape wheel in gold; 18,000 vph/2.5 Hz frequency
Functions: hours, minutes, (hacking) seconds; large date, power reserve display (up/down), perpetual calendar with months (shown by small arrow), leap years on back
Price: €60,000 / $70,000 / 63,000 Swiss francs / £47,000