Louis Moinet is one of the mythical brands of Swiss watchmaking. It may not be the best-known manufacture, but it is certainly one of the most curious, and above all, it has bequeathed us the invention of the chronograph, a device that revolutionized watchmaking at the time, and which is still based on the original device devised in its day by Louis Moinet.

This week we take a look at the manufacture of Louis Moinet, from its origins to its current pieces.

Who was Louis Moinet, the inventor of the chronograph

Louis Moinet had an exciting biography, which the manufacture itself is responsible for preserving and making known.

Louis Moinet was born in the city of Bourges, in the Loire region in central France, in the year 1768. From an early age he was interested in the world of watchmaking, however, he was trained in many other arts, including architecture, painting and sculpture, standing out in all of them, however, he devoted himself mainly to the development of watches, applying knowledge from other fields.

Since the year 1800 he has devoted himself completely to watchmaking, his contributions to the world of watchmaking are innumerable, but above all his contributions, the development of the first chronograph in the year 1815 stands out.

Throughout his career, Louis Moinet focused on the development of handcrafted watches, among his most prominent clients are Napoleon, King George IV of the United Kingdom, the presidents of the United States Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe or the King of Naples.

Monet's main achievement was the development of several mechanical inventions that we will review below. The main objective throughout Moinet's career was to develop watchmaking concepts that would improve precision, in addition to applying his knowledge to develop new ways of measuring time.

In 1815, Napoleon's Europe came to an end, after his defeat at Waterloo. At the same time that this event was happening, crucial for all of Europe, Louis Moinet began working on a device that had been unthinkable until now, the first chronograph (main image of the post).

It was not until the year 1816 when Moinet was able to engineer all the mechanisms of what he himself called Compte-tierces, the Count-thirds, the first chronograph in history.

This counter was capable of counting 60 parts of a second. Nowadays, it is more common to include tenths or hundredths in precision chronographs, however, the impulses generated by the Moinet chronograph divided the second into 60 parts, thanks to a mechanism that generated up to 216,000 vibrations per hour.

Ever since Louis Moinet developed an absolutely original chronograph, the Swiss watch industry has worked tirelessly to offer increasingly precise part-timers with new functions. Even today, new ways of keeping time mechanically continue to appear, but since the year 1816, all these devices are based on the original idea of ??the French watchmaker.

The current collection of Louis Moinet

Louis Moinet continues to maintain the main premise of his founder, to manufacture handcrafted watches that become unique jewels from the first moment.

Unlike traditional manufactures, the brand does not divide its watches into different lines or collections, rather each watch is unique and independent, although it is true that most of its designs have points in common.

Among the most recognizable characteristics of Louis Moinet pieces, the following should be highlighted:

The movement of these pieces is unique, Louis Moinet designs many of his models in the form of a skeleton so that the inner pieces are visible, and the mechanism can be fully perceived.

Tourbillon

The torubillon is a mechanism that largely eliminates the effect of gravity on movement. Many of the Louis Moinet watches incorporate this complex mechanism to fully optimize the movement.

It may sound strange to you, but many of the watches from this manufacture incorporate literally extraterrestrial materials. Louis Moinet uses pieces of meteorites originating from Mars or the Moon, for some of its components. The manufacture ensures that this type of material is much more resistant than those used by the traditional watch industry.

Chronographs

Louis Moinet holds the original patent for the chronograph movement, which is why the brand is always at the forefront when it comes to part-time measurement movements.

Some of the chronographs developed by Louis Moinet are simply the best in the world. Clearly, much of the brand's development strategy is based on producing extremely complex and precise chronographs.

Tributes in different parts of the world

Some of his models are inspired by different countries of the world, such as the Qatar Tourbillon, the Russian Eagle or the Dragon Tourbillon. This type of design tries to condense the spirit of a country into a watch, in the case of the three above, Qatar, Russia and China, although there are other models inspired by Mexico or New York.

When we talk about Swiss watchmaking, we think of manufactures such as Audemars Piguet, Rolex, Patek Philippe, Omega or Panerai, however, there are endless small artisan manufactures that offer truly unique and very special watches.

Beyond the usual proposals, Switzerland hides small factories in which craftsmanship prevails, with impressive movements, made by hand.

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