A mechanical watch cannot operate without lubrication. The hundreds of jewelled bearings and pivot points run at thousands of impacts per second; without microscopic films of oil at each contact, friction would generate heat, wear the components, and within hours seize the movement. Watch oils are formulated for extreme thin-film viscosity (operating at micron-scale film thicknesses), chemical stability across temperature and time, and resistance to migration (oils that creep away from the application point cause failures).
H. Moebius & Sons SA was founded in 1855 in Biel/Bienne; the firm has supplied watchmaking lubricants continuously for 170 years. Through the 19th and early 20th centuries Moebius oils were natural-base (whale oil, jojoba, olive oil derivatives); the modern era from the 1970s shifted to fully synthetic formulations with predictable behaviour across temperature and decades-scale stability.
"You cannot see the oil. The oil cannot see you. Both of you depend on it."- Watchmaker on lubrication
The Moebius product family: 9010 (also Synt-Lube) is the most-used oil in modern watchmaking, applied to fast-rotation bearings (balance pivots, escape-wheel pivots); 9020 a slightly higher viscosity for slower rotation; 9415 a thixotropic grease for pallet-jewel impulse faces; HP-1300 for escapement contact under high pressure; D5 for mainspring barrel walls; 9504 grease for keyless works (winding stem, setting lever). A typical service uses 5-7 different Moebius products at different points in the movement.
The industry standard position of Moebius is total at the volume tier; almost every Swiss watchmaker, from independent service shops to brand factory service centres, uses Moebius synthetic oils as the default. Competing brands (Hangefi, FineWatchmaking) exist as specialty alternatives but have not displaced Moebius. The product is sold in tiny 2ml glass vials at CHF 50-150 each; one vial typically services 50-100 watches.
For watch owners, Moebius is invisible: the user does not interact with watch oils, but they are the substrate that makes the movement run for years between services. Service intervals are partly determined by oil chemistry: a Moebius 9010 service stays effective for 5-7 years before viscosity drift triggers the service window; modern HP-1300 escapement applications can extend this to 10 years. The "10-year service interval" claim of modern Rolex and Patek movements is partly an oil-chemistry claim.