Press release
Saint-Blaise, March 18, 2015
AstroMoon
Louis Moinet opens the heavens in its new astral complication
With AstroMoon, a moon phase tourbillon chronograph, Louis Moinet offers another blend of its
exclusive watchmaking skill and groundbreaking aesthetic approach.
It’s just the kind of piece that Louis Moinet, the inventor of the chronograph, could well have come
up with himself. A contemporary of Jules Verne, Moinet would have loved the dial, so closely
resembling the moon and stars. The new AstroMoon by Louis Moinet is a unique embodiment of the
blend of poetry and precision that is the hallmark of the independent Ateliers – which have just
celebrated their tenth anniversary.
A single aim: opening up the heavens
AstroMoon takes up the brand’s main style codes: an aventurine dial, a column-wheel chronograph,
and genuine meteorite fragments – combined for a limited
edition of just 28 timepieces. The watch is adorned by what
has become Louis Moinet’s signature style: dew-drop hands, a
large tourbillon cage with curved bridges, a chronograph hand
tipped by a star, and pushers that draw inspiration directly
from the Compteur de Tierces, the first chronograph in history
– invented by Louis Moinet in 1816.
Amidst all this, the moon-phase complication is the most
captivating. In similar fashion to the tourbillon positioned at 11
o’clock, it has been made as expansive as possible so that it
can be admired in its entirety, against an aventurine backdrop.
The feature has a unique design, as Jean-Marie Schaller,
Ateliers Louis Moinet’s CEO, enthusiastically explains: “We
started by taking a look at the most common moon-phases and
noted one feature they all had in common: a tiny window that
was not only small, but also only half-open – with the moon
and night sky having to be squeezed into that half,” says
Schaller. “Why not open up the heavens? After all, we don’t usually gaze up at a closed roof!”
An all-new design for the moon phase
The result, positioned at 6 o’clock, is wholly unique to Louis Moinet. In the centre of this rotating
disc, two fragments of lunar meteorite face one another, symbolizing the moon. Around the disc is
set a wide applique ring with curved indentations to show the moon’s phases as the disc turns.
Les Ateliers Louis Moinet SA Rue du Temple 1, P.O. Box 28 - CH-2072 Saint-Blaise NE - Tel. +41 32 753 68 14 - Fax +41 32
753 68 16
presse@louismoinet.com - www.louismoinet.com
This composition is characteristic of Louis Moinet, in this case from the Dhofar 459 meteorite. To
date, only a hundred or so lunar meteorites have been identified worldwide. Most of them are on
display in museums, with very few available for artistic use. These are extremely rare collector’s
items for enthusiasts and experienced connoisseurs. What is more, Louis Moinet is the only
watchmaking brand to offer meteorites from both the Moon and Mars in its creations.
The new aesthetic approach enables AstroMoon to display a broad swath of its dial, made from
aventurine. This deep blue material, dotted with a host of inclusions, not only symbolizes the starry
sky – it looks amazingly like it, too.
To preserve that deep tranquility, the four screws on the tourbillon bridges and the chronograph
counter are blue-tinted, as are their second and minute markers. In similar vein, the hands and
bridges are also openwork, allowing the heavenly brightness of the aventurine to shine through.
Innovation served by watchmaking tradition
To house this assembly, Louis Moinet has chosen a case used for many of its innovative creations.
Protected by many different patents, it comprises 49 components, and comes here in a 46.5 mm
format. The chronograph pushers are at 2 o’clock and 4 o’clock, either side of the Louis Moinet
crown and impact resistance system, also patented. The Fleur de Lys – emblem of the Ateliers – is
embossed on the surface, as well as featuring as an applique on the dial at 9 o’clock.
The movement powering the AstroMoon is Louis Moinet’s very own, and based on a historic Venus
caliber – a venerable, legendary movement acclaimed since the 1960s as a benchmark for
chronographs.
Its 373 components boast a highly exclusive finish. The surfaces and angles have been hand-polished
in the finest watchmaking tradition. The gold ruby gears and edging and the steel screws, block
polished heads and slots emphasize the assertive character of this painstakingly crafted movement.
The tourbillon and chronograph bridges are decorated with an engraving depicting the cosmos. Louis
Moinet has chosen this legendary caliber not only for its exceptional technical performance and
timelessness, but also for its artistic coherence with AstroMoon. Featuring a 50-hour power reserve,
the movement is hand-wound.
It is visible through a generous crystal back, with the distinctive signs of Louis Moinet arrayed all
around: creativity, unicity, exclusivity and design.
Download high-res pictures and texts :
http://louismoinet.com/downloads.php?category=8&model=64
Les Ateliers Louis Moinet SA Rue du Temple 1, P.O. Box 28 - CH-2072 Saint-Blaise NE - Tel. +41 32 753 68 14 - Fax +41 32
753 68 16
presse@louismoinet.com - www.louismoinet.com
Louis Moinet turns ten!
Visuals available at: http://louismoinet.com/downloads.php
Contact, interview requests, museum tours: presse@louismoinet.com
About Louis Moinet
Ateliers Louis Moinet was founded in Saint-Blaise, Neuchâtel, in 2004. The fully-independent firm was established to honour the memory of
Louis Moinet (1768-1853): master watchmaker, certified inventor of the chronograph (1816), and pioneer in the use of very high frequencies
(216,000 vibrations per hour). Louis Moinet was a watchmaker, scholar, painter, sculptor and teacher at the School of Fine Arts – as well as
the author of Traité d’Horlogerie, a watchmaking treatise published in 1848 that remained a definitive work of reference for almost a
century. Ateliers Louis Moinet is perpetuating this legacy. The firm’s timepieces, produced in limited editions only, have won some of the
most coveted awards, including a Red Dot Design Award (Best of the Best category), a prize in the International Chronometry Competition,
and a recent UNESCO Award of Merit. Louis Moinet creations often make use of unusual materials, such as fossils and meteorites, in a
unique creative approach combined with bespoke fine watchmaking complications. The brand’s core values are creativity, exclusivity, art
and design.
Les Ateliers Louis Moinet SA Rue du Temple 1, P.O. Box 28 - CH-2072 Saint-Blaise NE - Tel. +41 32 753 68 14 - Fax +41 32
753 68 16
presse@louismoinet.com - www.louismoinet.com