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THE LOUIS MOINET SPACE REVOLUTION (REVISITED)

The Louis Moinet Space Revolution has recently been nominated for the GPHG Tourbillon prize. Having covered this watch on ESCAPEMENT previously, Angus Davies takes the unusual step of revisiting this model focusing more closely on its composition.

By Angus DaviesPublished 2 years ago 10 min read
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When developing a new watch, a brand can spend weeks, months or even years bringing its ideas to fruition. A simple ‘animation’ of an existing product, for instance, swapping one dial colour for another, is relatively straightforward. However, a timepiece that is seemingly overflowing with innovation can take an inordinate amount of time to bring to market.

Once the trade samples have been made, the press release has been written, usually translated into several languages, the launch of the product must be carefully planned. The problem facing all watch firms is ‘when is the best time to launch’? Historically, most watches were launched at Baselworld or SIHH (now Watches & Wonders), however, with many brands all competing for valuable column inches at the same time, coverage sometimes proved elusive. Launching a product during the summer holiday season may sound foolhardy, but websites are often hungry for news during this time, so unveiling a product during this period may prove to be a shrewd move. Essentially, launching a new product is somewhat of a dark art. Indeed, it’s an essential task, but the secret for success remains a mystery.

When logging on to my computer and opening my email inbox, I sometimes discover a dozen or so press releases. Conversely, sometimes there are none. It’s often difficult to write about everything, hence I sift through the information provided and decide which products are deserving of coverage. I recall Louis Moinet released the Space Revolution in August 2020 and I remember at the time smiling at its highly original composition. With one glance I knew it was the product of Jean-Marie Schaller’s incredible imagination. Jean-Marie is the CEO and Creative Director of Louis Moinet and in all of the years I have known him, he has never failed to surprise me with yet another ingenious creation.

Having earmarked the watch for editorial coverage, I passed it to my colleague Mark McArthur-Christie for his horological appraisal and witty wordsmithery. As a result, and perhaps to my shame, the Space Revolution was ticked off my to-do list and I moved on to the next product for consideration. However, recently the Space Revolution came to my attention again after being nominated for a prestigious GPHG award. Each year the academy of the GPHG nominate suitable watches for consideration by the Jury. The cachet of a GPHG prize cannot be overstated. Every watch brand wants to walk the red carpet holding a GPHG trophy aloft.

Based on the attention the Louis Moinet Space Revolution has recently received, I felt compelled to revisit it on ESCAPEMENT, eager to learn more about its composition and critique its specification in minute detail.

‘Mechanical Wonders’ and ‘Cosmic Art’

Enter the world of Louis Moinet and you will discover two terms used over and over again, ‘mechanical wonders’ and ‘cosmic art’. The Maison, based in Saint-Blaise, close to the city of Neuchâtel, has repeatedly shown that it is unwilling to accept the status quo and frequently pushes the boundaries of design.

The brand is an innovator, manifest with its Memoris model that features a chronograph mechanism front of house with the brand describing the time keeping aspects of the watch, placed to the rear, as a complication. Marketing semantics? Maybe, but a wonderful watch nonetheless. Likewise, the brand’s Derrick watch, featuring a nodding pump jack centre-stage grants a highly original animated sequence and is, without question, a highly original idea.

Indeed, it seems innovation has been a key element of the brand’s paradigm ever since Louis Moinet, the legendary watchmaker, created the first chronograph in 1816. Perhaps even more remarkable is that Moinet’s chronograph had a frequency of 216,000 vph (30Hz), a cadence that few brands have matched even today, some 200 years later.

With the advent of the Louis Moinet Space Revolution, the Maison has clearly looked to the heavens for inspiration. At the heart of the watch is a unique mechanism that required over three years of research and development.

A groundbreaking mechanism

The Louis Moinet Space Revolution is equipped with two tourbillons. This in itself is unusual, albeit not unprecedented. However, this is merely the start. One hexagonal tourbillon cage is linked to a titanium spaceship named the ‘Black Force’, acting like a counterweight. The second tourbillon cage, a three-pronged structure, is linked to a second spaceship, again made from titanium and called the ‘Red Force’. Each tourbillon cage is positioned opposite its respective spaceship and each spaceship weighs a mere 0.5g.

The two tourbillons and their respective spaceships rotate around the dial. The Black Force rotates clockwise, revolving 360° every five minutes, while the Red Force rotates counter-clockwise, circumnavigating the dial every 10 minutes. Each tourbillon/spaceship combo is positioned at a different height above the dial. They pass one another 18 times per hour, with the Red Force flying below the Black Force

Louis Moinet has made the tourbillon cages from titanium, conferring each with a low mass of just 0.24g. The low mass of each cage and spaceship is essential to ensure that the mechanisms function reliably and consume only modest quantities of energy. Indeed, the modest power consumption of the mechanism has culminated in the watch having a power-reserve of 48 hours, an impressive figure for this genre of timepiece.

When Abraham-Louis Breguet invented the tourbillon, his objective was to counter the adverse influence of gravity on the regulating organ. In this instance, not only do the two tourbillons deliver a spectacular animated scene, they also augment precision. Both tourbillons are linked with a differential, averaging the positional errors and thereby granting superior precision compared to just one tourbillon working in isolation.

Mastering space

Beyond the tourbillons, the aventurine dial (I’ll return to this later) and the mainplate, sit above most of the movement components, including the barrel and gear train.

Measuring a mere 3.75mm in height, the movement occupies very little space. Its slender profile provides an abundance of room above the mainplate for the spaceships to fly in a glazed galaxy, thereby heightening the overall perception of vastness

The movement in detail

At the centre of the movement, a column orchestrates the motion of the tourbillons, spaceships and hands. The movement features two spring barrels. By having two barrels instead of one, the energy serving the respective tourbillons is more consistent, helping to ensure the amplitude of each balance does not fluctuate too much. The twin barrels contribute to the impressive power reserve of 48 hours. When viewing the movement, the Calibre LM104, via the exhibition caseback, the two mainsprings are disclosed via the two openworked barrel covers.

The Louis Moinet Space Revolution is fitted with a function selector, positioned to the rear of the case. Where most instruction manuals supplied with watches talk of pulling the crown to ‘position 1’ or ‘position 2’, etc, the crown on this watch remains flush to the case. The wearer merely slides the function selector to ‘time set’ or ‘power’ and then rotates the crown to adjust the hands or energise the mainsprings, accordingly.

Beyond the model’s technical virtuosity, Louis Moinet has enriched the movement with a plethora of refined finishes. The bridges are decorated with Côtes de Genève motif and feature gleaming bevels, while the lacquered spaceships are beautifully hand-crafted.

Each regulating organ features a variable inertia balance. By shunning the ubiquitous index regulated balance, the risk of positional errors is mitigated and the rate stability is superior. The movement comprises 470 components and takes one month to assemble.

A room with a view

Most watches feature a pane of sapphire crystal, positioned front of house. An increasing number of watches are now also equipped with a pane of sapphire crystal to the rear. Today’s watch buyer has grown accustomed to such glazing. A disc of sapphire is comparatively simple to produce.

However, when sapphire crystal is used to make more complex shapes there are several obstacles to overcome. The sapphire crystal fitted to the upper section of the Space Revolution is three-dimensional with the top and sides fully integrated. In addition, the inner bezel ring, marked with the speed of light, is also formed of sapphire crystal. The sapphire dome sits upon a chassis made of 18-carat rose gold. It measures 41.6mm, while the overall case diameter is 43.5mm. The chassis features openworked lugs with the apertures migrating to the crown on one side with a similar section of glazing on the left flank of the case. The caseback is in two sections, an outer part held with six screws and an inner section secured with three screws.

Equipping the watch with an expansive dome-like sapphire crystal allows light to flood the dial plane. This accentuates the spectacle of the spaceships and tourbillons in flight as well as showcasing the exquisite aventurine dial and the meteorite disc positioned beneath the hour and minute hands. Moreover, the design of the crystal imbues the galactic vista with sublime depths and a becoming perception of airiness.

Meteorites – a personal passion

Jean-Marie Schaller is a man of passions. He has always been fascinated by space, whether fictional or real. In the past he has used polymide film (a material used to protect spacecraft from heat), a real piece of Luna 24 and various meteorites to enhance the appearance of his watches. He employs the latter for the Space Revolution, a model limited to just eight pieces. Each watch features a circular disc formed of meteorite, positioned beneath the hour and minute hands. Exclusivity is assured with each timepiece featuring one of the following types of meteorite: Lunar, Martian, Allende, Erg Chech, Jbilet Wiselwan, Isheyevo, Gibeon meteorite and Armanty.

An aventurine dial

Louis Moinet has endowed the Space Revolution with an aventurine dial created using a glassmaking technique developed in the 17th century on the island of Murano, close to Venice. Aventurine was born of an accident when metal fragments fell into a glass mixture, resulting in a material infused with numerous flecks.

By employing black aventurine, the Maison has replicated the nocturnal sky, scattered with star-like flakes. Consistent with the rest of this watch, the material presented many challenges. For example, the black base material required over eight different stages to produce, each executed by hand, to realise the full potential of the aventurine. While the process of making this dial may be protracted, the amount of time expended is justified.

One man’s vision

Jean-Marie Schaller has an incredible imagination. I don’t know where he grew up, the toys he once played with or what forms of inspiration he was exposed to during his formative years, but certainly, there are few individuals who share his gift for creativity.

An avid painter in his spare time, Jean-Marie is undoubtedly an aesthete. His appreciation for lines, curves, colours and textures is exceptional. However, unlike many individuals with an artistic bent, he also has a well-developed understanding of engineering. Furthermore, his capacity for invention is coupled with an ability to source the necessary materials and skills to bring his dreams to life. It is this unusual skill-set that has enabled the brand to produce the highly original Space Revolution.

Like any form of art, the Space Revolution is likely to polarise opinion. Indeed, Jean-Marie seldom ‘plays it safe’ as such an approach would imply a degree of blandness. Only time will tell if the jury of the GPHG will appreciate the virtue of this artistic horological masterpiece.

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