The greatest men are often the most modest and such was Louis Moinet, an academic of the 19^th century, who shared his research with fellow horologists, rather than a businessman in pursuit of profit. His peers regarded him as one of the greatest horologists of all time. Louis Moinet is in particular renowned for his famous Traité d’Horlogerie, published in 1848 and widely reputed to be the finest book on horology of the century. He devoted twenty years of his life to writing this two-volume treatise, which remains highly sought after to this day. As a maker of precision instruments, Louis Moinet was involved in maritime, astronomical and civilian horology. This ingenious craftsman perfected various techniques in these fields and developed several important new improvements. His major achievement is of course the compteur de tierces of 1816, which makes him the inventor of what became known as the chronograph. Indeed the recent discovery of a hitherto unknown timepiece is rewriting the history of watch development. It turned out to be the first ever chronograph, although Louis Moinet called it a “compteur de tierces.” According to hallmarks on the dust cover, the chronograph was started in 1815 and completed the following year. This remarkable instrument of an entirely original design is evidently the work of a genius well ahead of his time. It measures events to the sixtieth of a second (known in those days as a “third” or tierce in French), indicated by a central hand. The elapsed seconds and minutes are recorded on separate subdials, and the hours on a 24-hour dial.  The stop, start and reset functions for the central hand are controlled by two buttons which qualifies it as a chronograph in the modern sense, although the term was coined much later. The return-to-zero function was revolutionary for the time. Until today, this invention had been thought to date from Adolphe Nicole’s patent of 1862.

 

Louis Moinet today is distinguished by its original models. Numerous international prizes, notably including five Red Dot Design Awards, have already honored the brand’s creations. This summer, its CEO Jean-Marie Schaller has indeed been awarded the Merit for Development in Watchmaking Art and Technology by the International Institute for Promotion and Prestige, which cooperates with UNESCO. In half a century, only two other distinctions have been awarded in the field of horology. Previous laureates include the NASA, the Russian Academy of Sciences, Porsche, IBM, Microsoft and Captain Jacques Cousteau.

 

 

Back to watchmaking : created in tribute to Louis Moinet, the founder of the brand, the Mecanograph City Limited Editions showcase the dynamism of the world’s greatest capital cities. This COSC-certified time-keeper innovates in terms of the technology of self-winding watches, by updating an historical operating system. Within this distinctive and rare mechanism, small and large pawls work together with the automatic winding gear train. Its most remarkable characteristic is the way in which it reveals the entire regulating organ, as well as the escapement and its gear train, highlighted by the anthracite coating on the mainplate and bridges. The entire left half of the dial is open to display the relentless minuet of this proprietary movement. Suspended above the precision machinery, the seconds hand adds to the breathtaking three-dimensional effect, vibrating 8 times per second (28,800 vibrations per hour). One of the main challenges was to insert the seconds hand within this magnificent mechanical ensemble. This was done by means of a distinctively shaped applique and a double read-off hand, thereby affording a new vision of time. The external minute track as well as a hand-engraved half-dial contribute to forging the elegant spirit of this watch with its strong personality. Viewed from the back, the balance with screws shows a different and original face compared with the front view. It is fitted within a set of anthracite-coloured bridges adorned with “Côtes du Jura”^®, while the rotor is mounted on a high-tech ceramic ball bearing mechanism. The design of the titanium or red gold case echoes the Louis Moinet signature codes, meaning an upper six-screw bezel and its unique interchangeable crown tube system for which an invention patent has been filed.

 

Another very original high-end timepiece, Louis Moinet’s Derrick is a world first, combining a tourbillon with a working oil derrick. This unique device, visible over a large part of the petroleum blue dial, is in constant motion, completing its cycle every 15 seconds. Its rocking lever is made entirely of brushed aluminium.

 

 

With the Russian Eagle Limited Edition, Louis Moinet unveiled at the 2014 JCK exhibition a further proof of the brand’s commitment to fine arts, world culture and haute horlogerie techniques. It features a hand-engraved Russian Eagle, the coat of arms of the Russian Federation. This derives from the earlier coat of arms of the Russian Empire – abolished with the Russian Revolution in 1917 and restored in 1993. “Creating our Russian Eagle timepiece has been both an honour and a challenge”, says Jean-Marie Schaller, CEO and Creative Director of Les Ateliers Louis Moinet. “It’s been a very demanding piece to create. The eagle alone requires no fewer than fifty hours of hand-engraving. We’ve placed and sized the bird so that it remains the artistic heart of the watch; meanwhile, the tourbillon at six o’clock offers its own distinctive insight into haute horlogerie, ensuring the piece maintains perfect precision.” 

 

Also depicted in full flight, is the dragon a descendant of the large extinct reptiles of the cretaceous period ? In its new artistic timepiece, Louis Moinet cut out the body of the dragon so as to reveal the fossilised dinosaur bone believed to be around 150 million years old, while the rest of the dial of the Dragon Tourbillon is made out of black jade, which highlights the Dragon’s body in its figure of eight, a number considered to be very lucky in Chinese culture. Engraving the Dragon required more than 50 hours of work, and was done entirely by hand using a piece of 18K white gold. A particular fine jewelry technique – rarely applied to watchmaking – enabled the alternation from charcoal-grey to polished gold, and brings the Dragon’s body to life. Through its ruby eyes, the Dragon watches the pearl of fire, portrayed in black jade in the center of the watch.

 

Mecanograph Qatar 

Case : grade 5 titanium with polished and satin-brushed finishing or 5N 18K rose gold, patented crown, sapphire case-back engraved with individual number, water-resistant to 50m Diameter : 43,5mm Movement : self-winding mechanical movement (LM31 Caliber conceived by Concepto and Louis Moinet, 48h power reserve), COSC certified, 182 parts, anthracite-coloured bridges adorned with “Côtes du Jura”^®, rotor on ceramic ball bearing Functions : hours, minutes, seconds Dial : hand-engraved, Qatar Meteorite part, “Gouttes de Rosée”^® (dewdrop) hands Strap : brown or black alligator with titanium or gold folding clasp Limited edition : 60 pieces

 

“Compteur de tierces” : the first ever chronograph

 

Mecanograph City New York 

Case : grade 5 titanium with polished and satin-brushed finishing or 5N 18K rose gold, patented crown, sapphire case-back engraved with individual number, water-resistant to 50m  Diameter : 43,5mm Movement : self-winding mechanical movement (LM31 Caliber conceived by Concepto and Louis Moinet, 48h power reserve), COSC certified, 182 parts, anthracite-coloured bridges adorned with “Côtes du Jura”^®, rotor on ceramic ball bearing  Functions : hours, minutes, 20-second retrograde mechanism Dial : hand-engraved, New York Meteorite part, “Gouttes de Rosée”^® (dewdrop) hands Strap : brown or black alligator with titanium or gold folding clasp Limited edition : 60 pieces

 

20-second Tempograph

Case : Grade 5 titanium with polished and matt finishing (or rose gold), patented crown, sapphire case-back engraved with individual number, water-resistant to 50m Diameter : 43,5mm Movement : self-winding mechanical movement (LM39 Caliber conceived by Concepto and Louis Moinet, 48h power reserve), Rhodium-coloured bridges adorned with circular “Côtes de Genève”, rotor on ceramic ball bearing Functions : hours, minutes, 20-second retrograde mechanism Dial : open, guilloche, “Gouttes de Rosée”^® (dewdrop) hands, blued steel Strap : hand-sewn Louisiana alligator leather with alligator leather lining, double folding clasp in steel Limited editions : 365 pieces in titanium, 60 pieces in rose gold

 

Derrick Tourbillon

Case : rose gold, patented crown, sapphire case-back engraved with individual number, water-resistant to 30m Diameter : 47mm Movement : hand-wound mechanical movement (72h power reserve), “Côtes du Jura” ^® engraving, blued steel screws Functions : hours, minutes, exclusive tourbillon movement with a working oil derrick Dial : white, decorated with “Côtes du Jura”, brushed aluminium rocking lever, “Gouttes de Rosée”^® (dewdrop) golden hands Strap : Louisiana alligator leather with 18K white gold & black titanium folding clasp Limited editions : 28 pieces

 

Dragon Tourbillon

Case : rose gold, patented crown, sapphire case-back engraved with individual number, water-resistant to 30m Diameter : 47mm Movement : hand-wound mechanical movement (72h power reserve), “Côtes du Jura” ^® engraving, blued steel screws Functions : hours, minutes, 1mn tourbillon Dial : fossilized dinosaur bone entirely hand-engraved white gold dragon, black jade, “Gouttes de Rosée” dew-drop hands Strap : Ostrich leather, hand-sewn with 18K rose gold folding clasp Limited editions : 12 pieces

 

Russian Eagle

Case : white gold, patented crown, sapphire case-back engraved with individual number, water-resistant to 30m Diameter : 47mm Movement : hand-wound mechanical movement (72h power reserve), “Côtes du Jura” ^® engraving, blued steel screws Functions : hours, minutes, 1mn tourbillon Dial : midnight blue with “Côtes du Jura” ^® decoration, Russian Eagle hand-engraved, the coat of arms of the Russian Federation “Gouttes de Rosée” dewdrop hands Strap : Louisiana alligator leather with 18K white gold & black titanium folding clasp Limited editions : 28 pieces