Louis Moinet house usually introduces itself as “the inventor of the chronograph”. But this time, it has instead chosen to reinvent Jules Verne’s odyssey with a tour of the world in… 8 watches!
Each model benefits from impressive work on its dial to pay tribute to the arts and crafts and the watchmaking know-how. The result is simply stunning.
From Paris to New York, the 8 wonders of the watchmaking world
Paris, Abu Dhabi, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Tokyo, San Francisco, New York. These are the 8 stops of the journey proposed by Louis Moinet Workshops through this collection “Around the World in 8 Days”.
About 150 years after the journey of Phileas Fogg and the story of Jules Verne, it’s now the turn of Jean-Marie Schaller, the owner of the Louis Moinet house, to tell us his story : “Imagine traveling around the world in just eight days to discover the essence of eight of the most beautiful cities in the world. Upon my return, I open my travel journal describing these eight unforgettable stages through 8 watchmaking works celebrating the most beautiful materials of the arts and crafts.”
This new world tour naturally begins in Paris, where Louis Moinet shared his watchmaking expertise in the 19th century, notably as president of the Paris Chronometric Society. In this watch, the dial was designed as an 81-piece puzzle. It represents a map of Paris with the Eiffel Tower, sculpted from an actual fragment of its iron dating from 1889.
The collection then heads to Abu Dhabi, with a representation of the sublime Sheikh Zayed Mosque, hand-painted on a rock crystal base, paying tribute to its pure and brilliant lines.
From Bangkok, the Louis Moinet house shares memories of the floating markets. This time, it is colourful boats, hats and water lilies that are meticulously depicted on the watch, set against a background evoking a labyrinth. Still in Asia, the timepiece inspired by Kuala Lumpur honours the Petronas Towers. They are erected in silver on a silicon dial, evoking micro-electronic circuits, symbol of technological modernity.
The fifth stage takes us to Singapore: straw marquetry forms a living composition of the city-state’s iconic buildings, reflecting the dynamism of the city. In Tokyo, the collection takes on a more poetic dimension: a starry aventurine background carries an origami crane, hand-painted cherry blossoms, and Mount Fuji, symbols of longevity, ephemeral beauty, and perseverance.
Finally, a change of continent for the last two stages. Louis Moinet first makes a stop in San Francisco: the Golden Gate Bridge, meticulously sculpted and painted, stands out against a silicon waffle background, evoking Silicon Valley and the city’s architecture. The collection imagined by Jean-Marie Schaller concludes in New York with an eighth iconic watch: here, a sapphire crystal base with a holographic film illuminates the buildings that change color according to the viewing angle, dominated by the Statue of Liberty, finely engraved and hand-painted.
Louis Moinet does more than just care for the dials of his watches
Beyond the dials, each watch is a treasure of technical complexity and aesthetic refinement. The manual movement Calibre LM135 beats at a pace of 28,800 alternations per hour at the heart of a 40.7 mm case, available in 18-carat red gold and grade 5 titanium. Visible through the transparent back, this mechanism provides a power reserve of 96 hours. The alligator strap, combined with a folding clasp, completes the elegance of each piece.
Each watch from this Louis Moinet collection is already a masterpiece in its own right. But the house of Saint-Blaise has chosen to go above and beyond, as these timepieces are presented in an exceptional setting: a wooden chest covered in leather, adorned with a fleur-de-lys monogram, echoing the legacy of Louis Moinet.
This set also contains an old world map by Thomas Jefferys, dated 1786, which highlights the global ambition and historical journey of Moinet’s creations. This unique creation, along with the case and its 8 timepieces, is offered at a price of 1.5 million Swiss francs…
