The planets align for Louis Moinet

Image
The planets align for Louis Moinet - Louis Moinet
A coherent and original story, and two limited editions that put a genuine fragment of Mars or the Moon on your wrist. Louis Moinet has its head in the stars!

When you’re independent, you have to try to stand out from the crowd, despite not having the same resources as the big groups. In a watchmaking year that will see the moon figure prominently in many creations – this being the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission – Louis Moinet is unveiling not one but two pieces: Moon and Mars. And their approach has nothing to do with the space race! 

Louis Moinet in orbit

The first watch, Moon, refers to a work that predates the 1969 moon landing by some considerable time. In fact, Louis Moinet is celebrating the 150th anniversary of Jules Verne’s Around the Moon. It’s a judicious strategy. It sets itself apart from the lunar frenzy that has gripped the horological world, by targeting someone who was a contemporary of Louis Moinet himself: Jules Verne. It’s clear, coherent and different. 

The planets align for Louis Moinet

Moon is based on the Metropolis collection. It’s the most modern watch to come out of the Ateliers Louis Moinet, bypassing the traditional aesthetic codes and embracing a more contemporary architecture and an edgier design. For instance, it’s the only Louis Moinet creation to feature Roman numerals. 

Aside from that, Moon has been designed to incorporate a number of elements that establish its lunar orientation. The most striking is a capsule at three o’clock that contains a genuine moon fragment, perfectly visible to the naked eye. The capsule is located on the dial that depicts the lunar surface with the famous Gassendi, Tycho and Cassini craters, stamped out in stamped brass. Moon comes in two limited editions, 12 in rose gold and 60 in steel, all with a 43 mm case. 

Mars, pleasure you can’t measure

The red planet is the subject of the second series. This time, the theme is given a more historical treatment. It begins with a question that raises a smile today: did Martians build canals to irrigate their planet? 

The planets align for Louis Moinet

Percival Lowell, who was born in 1855 and was a contemporary of Louis Moinet, took this idea very seriously. He wasn’t completely off the wall: according to the theory, since Mars is red, it must be covered in rust, and thus must once have had a great deal of water on the surface. It’s an old theory, and one that still has its proponents today. Lowell was continuing the work of Giovanni Schiaparelli, an Italian astronomer who interpreted the dark patches on Mars’s surface as lakes and canals. The Mars watch is based on this fascinatingly romantic (albeit outdated) vision of astronomy. 

The watch has the same base (Metropolis), the same limited numbers (12 in rose gold and 60 in steel) and the same case size (43 mm) as Moon. The capsule at 3 o’clock contains a genuine fragment of Mars, and the dial this time reproduces the surface of Mars with its famous volcanoes. Collectors who know their astronomy will easily recognise in the centre Olympus Mons, Ascraeus Mons (between 1 and 2 o’clock), Pavonis Mons (4-5 o’clock) and Arsia Mons (5-6 o’clock).

One book you can judge by its cover...

To all those who complain – often with justification – about the cumbersome and highly unoriginal presentation boxes that watches are often sold in, Louis Moinet has once again come up with an original and creative response. Moon and Mars are delivered in boxes designed to look like original leather-bound volumes from the time of Around the Moon. These are also bespoke creations, produced in a limited series. They are embossed with a faithful reproduction of a lunar or Martian crater, in the centre of which is a sealed piece of meteorite from one or the other celestial body. Deserving of a place of honour on your bookshelf!

Featured brand