The Memoris Red Eclipse timepiece by Louis Moinet has been specially created to celebrate the invention of the chronograph and to mark the special event celebrating the bicentennial anniversary at the Neuchâtel Observatory. This watch has been nominated in the Chronograph Category for the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève 2016.
Memoris is the first educational chronograph in the history of watchmaking. This creation is both technical and fun, displaying all the choreography of its chronograph on the dial side. Red Eclipse features a red moon in gold-leaf enamel on its oscillating weight, as well as hand-crafted engravings on its bridges and bezel.
2016 marks the bicentenary of the invention of the chronograph. An event entitled 200 years in 24 hours was organized at the Neuchâtel Observatory earlier this month to observe the eclipse of the moon. And as a tribute to the astronomical observations of Louis Moinet, the Red Eclipse model was officially unveiled. Red Eclipse highlights a celestial ancestry. The white gold case is fully hand-engraved, on the theme of the lunar eclipse, and decorated with jewels at the end of the lugs. Memoris time, meanwhile, is displayed on a Grand Feu enamel dial.
The unique structure of Memoris provides time measurement – and allows you to understand how it works, too. With a single gentle touch on the mono pusher, the mechanism of steel parts and gears comes to life, all coordinated by the column wheel at 12 o’clock. The column wheel itself, with teeth at the base and vertical columns that have been precision cut, is the star of the show. The multiple facets of this symmetrical part bring to life the various levers that pass on information to the hands.
The movement is neither a skeleton nor an additional module; it’s an all-new feature, designed for and around the chronograph. So much so that Louis Moinet has opted to locate the automatic movement’s time mechanism to the rear of the piece, beneath the plate.
The movement’s parts are hand-decorated: angling and black polishing embellish the mechanism, set against a mysterious, starry backdrop. This is crafted using a specially-made lathe to a traditional rose engine – a tool which, despite being all of two hundred years old, has just found a new application, thanks to Memoris. The unique process used results in a spectacular effect, by virtue of which the stars twinkle as your viewing angle changes.
