The new Louis Moinet Mars watch enshrines an extraordinary space borne adventure. The collection (comprising 12 pieces in rose gold and 60 in steel) features a genuine Mars meteorite fragment in a capsule at the three o’clock position, amid a dial that faithfully reproduces the surface of Mars, complete with its legendary volcanoes.
Collectors who are also astronomy buffs will have no difficulty in recognising Olympus Mons in the centre, Ascraeus Mons between 1 and 2 o’clock, Pavonis Mons between 4 and 5 o’clock, and Arsia Mons between 5 and 6 o’clock.
To create this Martian landscape, the brass dial has undergone expert craftsmanship, with each crater reproduced individually. On the rear side, the oscillating weight is in the same shade as the dial, with a copper-coloured, concentric Clous de Paris stud finish.
The Mars piece features three different sets of openwork – on the hour markers, on the dial, and on the lugs and vertical bridges – giving the timepiece a uniquely three-dimensional aspect. It is also the first creation by Ateliers Louis Moinet to feature Roman numeral hour markers, made with three different geometrical sections. They have a satin, diamond-studded finish, and appear to be suspended in mid-air as if weightless.
The openwork on the Mars dial, between 8 and 12 o’clock, reveals its exclusive Louis Moinet caliber. The escapement (generating 28,800 vibrations per hour) and the offset seconds hand are displayed in all their glory – carefully positioned to ensure an unobstructed view of every detail of the Mars movement.
The assembly is housed in Louis Moinet’s 43.2-millimetre Neo case, structured around two vertical bridges that span the timepiece, securing the strap at each end of their openwork lugs.
The exclusive presentation case has been specially designed for Mars in the style of a leather bound first edition typical of nineteenth-century works of speculative fiction and exploration. In a new development, the Mars presentation case will also be punched in the shape of a Martian crater –in the middle of which a second fragment of Martian meteorite is sealed.
