A new Louis Moinet limited edition masterpiece is being displayed for the very first time in the Middle East at the Doha Jewellery and Watches Exhibition (DJWE), which is currently under way in Doha, Qatar.

The special edition of its Memoris watch celebrates the 200th anniversary of the invention of the chronograph by Louis Moinet, the firm’s founder.

It is also said to be the world's first chronograph timepiece that is “clothed in light”. 

The new Memoris watch features a canopy of stars blazing out of the night sky and is the first of a series of limited edition creations dedicated to the bicentenary of the invention of the chronograph.

Using an unprecedented engraving technique, the “Memoris 200^th Anniversary” features a series of individual stars scattered across the night sky, each one worked on individually by the craftsman to imbue a natural sparkle. 

The anniversary edition features a new hour dial made in enamel for the first time in history of the piece, a new main plate painted and decorated with star constellations, and a new translucent flange and counter bridge.

The starry back consists of a brass plate coated in a translucent blue. The stars have been created using an entirely new fixed engraving process. Devised by one of Louis Moinet’s craftsmen, this involves attaching a specially-made lathe to a traditional rose engine also known as a guillocheuse. 

The idea is to combine the power of the rose engine with the precision of a handheld graver. The result differs from that produced by milling or stamping: while it resembles the effect traditionally associated with a guillocheuse inasmuch as material is removed, here this is focused on a tiny area with varying levels of depth – two characteristics that traditional engine turning seeks to avoid at all costs. 

What is more, individual stars are all fashioned to feature different angles and depths, so that each and every one captures as much light as possible. Several fixed engraving sessions are required per star. The process used is unprecedented in watchmaking – and the outstanding result gives the novel impression that certain stars really are shining, says the manufacture.


CRYSTALLINE TRANSPARENCY

For the flange and counter bridge, Louis Moinet has used a revolutionary and secret translucent material produced by combining composite materials and high-temperature vacuum moulding. It offers a unique advantage: it is through-coloured and yet the same time maintains a certain degree of transparency.

Used in translucent dark blue on the flange of the new Memoris, it adds an exclusive sense of depth, whereas an opaque flange would have ‘locked down’ the timepiece. 

In its natural state, this material is as just as pure and translucent as crystal, but nowhere near as fragile, allowing it to be used for the counter bridge too and the ensuing transparency ensures the wearer can admire the night blue sky without missing a single star. 

The new edition is limited to just 20 watches.

Ateliers Louis Moinet was founded Neuchâtel, Switzerland in 2004 to honour the memory of Louis Moinet (1768-1853), a master watchmaker, inventor of the chronograph, and pioneer in the use of very high frequencies (216,000 vibrations per hour). The firm’s timepieces, produced in limited editions only, have won some of the most coveted awards, including a Red Dot Design Award (Best of the Best category), a prize in the International Chronometry Competition, and a recent Unesco Award of Merit. Louis Moinet creations often make use of unusual materials such as fossils and meteorites in a unique creative approach combined with bespoke fine watchmaking complications. 

The DWJE is being held at the new Doha Exhibition and Convention Center in West Bay. The event runs until February 27 from noon to 10 pm.