WristWatch Magazine | Page 56

LOUIS MOINET from what is true.” Based on emperical evidence, the world must acknowledge this genius’ chief accomplishment and prepare to hastily celebrate the unexpected 200th anniversary of the chronograph. LOUIS MOINET’S ACADEMIC CONTEMPORARIES During the mid 19th century, Louis Moinet was a horologist, sculptor and painter of great stature, crafting extraordinary clocks for American presidents Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe; Napoleon Bonaparte; King George IV of England; and other crowned leaders of Europe. Moinet became a professor of arts in the Louvre in Paris, and he ran in prominent academic circles as a contemporary of renowned horologists Breguet, Abraham-Louis Perrelet, and famous Parisian bronzier Pierre-Philippe Thomire, with whom he advised and worked. Moinet’s 1848 book, Traité d’Horlogerie, was admired by scholars and the finest watchmakers of his era, including Perrelet, Charles Frodsham, Claudius Saunier and Joseph-Thaddeus Winnerl. Now Louis Moinet is more than a man—he is a brand (run by current CEO and creative director Jean-Marie Schaller). This brand is known for its guilloche dials, distinctive cases with screwed bezels, and exotic materials such as meteorite, fossilized palm wood and dinosaur bone. MEMORIS COLLECTION To commemorate the chronograph’s bicentennial and the company’s 10th anniversary, Louis Moinet introduces the limited edition Memoris, a contemporary chronograph crafted from the outside-thebox spirit of the watchmaker’s original instrument. The Memoris’ chronograph function is uniquely showcased center stage as the timepiece’s chief component, while time serves a secondary complication role. The chronograph is the dial, eclipsing 54 WRISTWATCH | 2016