Memoris Red Eclipse

Image
Memoris Red Eclipse - Louis Moinet
2 minutes read
Louis Moinet officially presents its Memoris Red Eclipse model today, to coincide with a lunar eclipse.

It may be the most expensive of the six finalists in the chronograph category in this year’s Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève, but for the 96,000 Swiss franc price tag of the Louis Moinet Memoris Red Eclipse you get a lot for your money: a unique movement specifically designed to show off the chronograph mechanism (making it more chronograph than watch, according to Louis Moinet), hand-decorated movement parts, rose engine-turned night-sky backdrop and a hand-engraved case with precious stones on the end of the lugs, not forgetting the hour and minute sub-dial at 6 o’clock, which is in oven-fired enamel.

What may strike you when looking at the watch are the heavy blue tones, with a blue enamel dial, blue background and blue alligator strap. It’s a very pleasing combination, but not one which seems to tie in with the name “Red Eclipse”. Turn the watch over, however, and you will see through the transparent sapphire crystal case back a beautifully decorated winding rotor with a red moon in gold-leaf enamel at its centre. This special piece will be presented today at an event entitled “200 years in 24 hours”, which will celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Louis Moinet chronograph in a unique way, taking over the Neuchâtel Observatory for a full 24 hours and allowing keen astronomers to glimpse (weather permitting) the lunar eclipse during the night of 16th September.

Louis-Moinet-Memoris-Red-Eclipse

The Memoris Red Eclipse is not the only Louis Moinet timepiece to be preselected by the GPHG, however. The brand submitted two watches, both of which were chosen by the judges to go through to the next round. The Sideralis Evo is one of the six finalists in the Tourbillon category. As the name suggests, it is an evolution of the Sideralis model seen earlier this year at Baselworld. The difference is that this version has no base to the dial and the two tourbillons seem to float in space. The oversized double tourbillons rotate in opposite directions which, with each tourbillon being coupled to a separate dial plate, allows some astronomically themed magic to happen on the dial.

The dial consists of two separate discs, the upper one showing a hand-painted constellation of stars and planet on a dark blue background; the lower one with hand-painted depictions of the Moon, Mars and Mercury. Thanks to the opposing rotation of the two tourbillons that mesh with each of these two discs, the discs themselves also rotate in opposite directions. The result is a unique and patented astronomical ballet on the sub-dial at 12 o’clock.

Louis-Moinet-Sideralis-Evo

But the mystery does not stop there: each of the three planets is actually decorated with authentic fragments of rock from the planets themselves: a fragment of rock from mars, moon dust and an extremely rare fragment of the “Rosetta Stone” (also known by the less poetic name of Sahara 99555), which is the oldest known fragment of the solar system at over 4,566,200,000 years old and believed to come from the planet Mercury.

See all 72 finalists at a glance on our dedicated page and vote for your favourite watches in each category. 
Take part in the draw for the Public Prize of the GPHG 

Featured brand