Insanely well-made craftsmanship. Extreme high end watchmaking from Louis Moinet

Text: Britta Rossander

The manufacturer Louis Moinet is a master of unique watches, complicated craftsmanship and has customers who are willing to pay handsomely. The founder Jean-Marie Schaller says that he discovered the world of watches when he worked for a couple of the industry's best known brands. It turned into a passion and in 2003 he founded Les Ateliers Louis Moinet SA. Eqotime’s Britta Rossander has taken a closer look at the brand's latest release.

Les Ateliers Louis Moinet in St-Blaise is independent and the reason Schaller founded it was that he had fallen for Louis Moinet's (1768-1853) life's work. So in order to honour the memory of the master watchmaker who was also a researcher, painter, sculptor, teacher at the academy of fine arts and author of Traité d’Horlogerie, a treatise on watchmaking published in 1848 and which became a reference work for a century. Today the watchmakers at Ateliers Louis Moinet work on managing this heritage. They make unique watches and some models also in small series within two categories: ”Cosmic art” and ”Mechanical wonders”.

– My second passion after watchmaking is to travel, says Schaller.

That we cannot do now, but if you are possessed of an extremely large wallet you can travel through Louis Moinet's watchmaking art and fantastic work with engraving and decoration. The series 8 Marvels of the World just shown consists of eight watches with inspiration from some of the world's wonders interpreted by Louis Moinet's craftsmen.

The watches are unique and are presented together in a box of elm burl. The lid is dome-shaped and the inside is lined with black leather where the inside of the lid has an image with a globe originally painted in the 18th century by Johann Gabriel Doppelmayr. When it comes to the watches it is the cases' extremely advanced engraving and the dials' ornamentation that are to bring to mind the places of the various wonders.

The 8 Marvels

Colosseum

The Colosseum is the largest amphitheatre in the Roman empire and one that held up to 50 000 people. At the inauguration, emperor Titus had the arena filled with water in order to recreate the sea battle of Corinth against Corcyra. The watch that interprets the Colosseum has an arena in onyx with a ring of baguette-cut sapphires in the colours of the rainbow. The steps are detailed and polished, the window arches on the edges of the case number 112 – exactly as for the Colosseum when the arena stood finished in 80 AD.

The Blue Mosque

The Blue Mosque, also known as the Sultan Ahmet mosque, is one of Istanbul's historic mosques and was completed in 1616 under Sultan Ahmet I. It is considered to be the last example of classical Ottoman architecture and has been given its name after the 20 000 blue ceramic tiles on the inner walls. The watch's dial has 13 mother-of-pearl inlays in different shades of blue as well as a miniature painting where the six minarets are clearly visible. Case ring, edges and lugs have engraving with patterns from Islamic art.

Petra

Petra in Jordan, whose name means ”rock” in ancient Greek. In the 6th century BC the people of the area (the Nabataeans) made the place prosperous as an oasis for caravans with pearls, turquoises, ivory, silk, incense and spices. Petra was a hub for the Arab world, the Mediterranean, Egypt and Syria. After having fallen into oblivion it was rediscovered by the Swiss explorer Jean-Louis Burckhardt in 1812. The building Khazneh with its monumental façade cut into the mountain has since then been a stop many have on their bucket list. The watch has Khazneh engraved on the dial, which is slightly raised so that you get more volume and depth for the motif.

Since the statues in the niches of the façade are destroyed, the artist has done research in order to bring out the right shapes. Grisaille engraving, where you work with several tones of the same colour, and as the icing on the cake there is a fresco that finishes off the motif. The case in white gold is engraved with shapes that symbolised strength and wealth in the Petra of that time.

The Khufu Pyramid

The Khufu Pyramid is the largest of the nine pyramids in Egyptian Giza. It was built around 4 500 years ago, during the IVth dynasty. Already in antiquity it was regarded as a wonder and it is the only one that has survived. The watch has a dial of Willow Creek Jasper that is reminiscent of the sand dunes in Egypt, the pyramid is made of gold. Originally the Khufu pyramid was covered with white limestone, which is why the watch's pyramid has been given white enamel grains. The pyramidion (the capstone) was made of electrum, a gold and silver alloy that was used in ancient Egypt. The watch's pyramid top in gold is lacquered with mirror lacquer for extra shine. The case is engraved in the taille de joue technique and with lotus flowers.  

Taj Mahal

The Taj Mahal, the marble mausoleum, was built 1632 – 1643 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal. A jewel that combines the Islamic, the Iranian, the Ottoman and the Indian. More than 1000 elephants are said to have transported white marble from Rajasthan, jasper from Punjab and turquoise from Tibet. In total 28 different decorative stones were used for the inlays in the white marble. The watch's dial has a miniature painting of the Taj Mahal In front of the Taj Mahal is the turquoise pool and a polished and rhodium-plated grid lies on the dial which gives a depth effect and has the shape of the windows found in the traditional architecture.

The Great Wall of China

The Great Wall of China is one of the most important buildings ever built when it comes to length, area and mass.. It stretches over 6 200 kilometres, is four to five metres wide with walls that are six to seven metres high. They were to protect China's northern border against the advance of Genghis Khan. Construction goes back to the 4th century BC. The watch's wall is engraved in rose gold and made as an application in a shape that gradually turns into a dragon that surrounds a path of jade. Far away in the picture a sloping firmament can be seen with 129 brilliant-cut sapphires and 11 brilliant-cut diamonds. Case ring and lugs are engraved with images in the dragon's theme.

Christ the Saviour (Christ the Redmeer)

The statue on the Corvocado mountain overlooking Rio de Janeiro is an icon for the city. It is 38 metres high, designed by the Brazilian engineer Heitor da Silva Costa. The body is made by the French sculptor Paul Landowski and the Romanian sculptor Gheorghe Leonida has made the head. The statue is erected in collaboration with the French engineer Albert Caquot.

In 1931 the statue of reinforced concrete, soapstone and one more type of stone that is a little softer stood finished. The head weighs 30 tonnes, and the outstretched arms with a 28 metre reach weigh eight tonnes each. In the watch the statue is of gold and stands out from the landscape since it is a relief application. It faces an engraved, enamelled azure blue sea. The mountains are made in Grand Feu enamel and the city's buildings have been given colour by micro-painting in enamel. The case in rose gold has decoration of the elements in the Brazilian coat of arms: coffee leaves and tobacco leaves.

Machu Picchu in Peru

The Inca city from the 15th century lies on a ridge where the mountains Machu Picchu and Huayna Picchu meet. The settlement for the first Inca emperor Pachacútec, who reigned from 1438 until his death in 1471, was an important religious sanctuary. After the collapse of the Inca empire, Machu Picchu fell into oblivion for several centuries and the ruins of 172 constructions we can see today lie 2 438 metres above sea level, between the two mountains. The watch has an engraved sun that shines over the city. The star that stands for as the Inca culture's and the four condors are national symbols for Peru. The birds fly towards a blue sky painted with micro technique.

Machu Picchu itself is a golden city at the foot of the mountains cut out of a Yowah Nut opal. They surround a central stone in Crazy Lace Agate. The terraces are accentuated with green lacquer and the case is engraved with figures and patterns traditional to Peru.

All the watches have manual movements with 22 hours power reserve, cases in gold that are 45,4 mm or 47 mm in diameter. The movements are calibre LY35 with tourbillon and they are presented together in a gigantic case of wood.