Two hundred years ago, the modern stopwatch, or chronograph, was invented by Louis Moinet. To celebrate the bicentenary of Moinet's Compteur de Tierce, Ateliers Louis Moinet has released its Memoris Anniversaire wrist chronograph, which made its world debut at Baselworld in March as part of the company's Memoris line.
The design of the Anniversaire makes it clear this is a chronograph first and foremost. Instead of a timepiece with a stopwatch complication added on, the chronograph function and movement dominates the face with the time function relegated to a subdial at six o'clock. The face itself, as well as the counters, are left transparent, so the chronograph mechanism is fully visible while the time mechanism sits behind the chronograph plate.
The opaque chronograph plate is finished in midnight blue with hand-engraved stars. The stars are produced using a new fixed graver technique that focuses on a tiny area with varying levels of depth to catch the light from different angles and create the illusion of twinkling.
The 34-jewel, 4 Hz movement uses the company's Energie Plus automatic system and has 302 parts with 147 elements of the chronograph function on the dial side. It's water-resistant to 50 m (165 ft) and has a 38-hour power reserve. The case, made of 46-mm 18K rose gold, consists of 52 parts held in place with six fully-visible, functional screws on the bezel. Decoration is made of alternating brushed and polished finishes, and there are chevé concave sapphire crystals front and back. An alligator strap finishes things off.
"We were keen to have a highly exclusive new edition to celebrate the bicentenary of the chronograph," says Jean-Marie Schaller, CEO of Ateliers Louis Moinet. "Following on from the first Memoris watches, unveiled in 2015 to celebrate our 10th anniversary, this bicentennial edition opens up a whole new chapter of celebrations – and the next decade of Louis Moinet creations."
The Memoris Anniversaire is available in a limited run of 20 units.
Source: Ateliers Louis Moinet