Q&ALouis Moinet’s Timekeeping Is About Unique Expressions, Says Brand CEO

Talk about the Time to Race watch, and its unique pieces.

This watch is very personalised. It comes in unique pieces. The buyer can choose a number in one of the three colours that it comes in. If someone chooses ‘17’ in blue, then that will be the only piece with that combination. There may be a 17 in green or red, but not another one in blue.

How does this watch fit in with the brand’s repertoire despite being so different?

We have two worlds—Cosmic Art and Mechanical Wonders. This one falls under the Mechanical Wonders pillar. Louis Moinet, the watchmaker, invented the chronograph, which is most known for motor-racing. The chronographs we do otherwise are more classical. Yet, racing is a strong part of what chronographs are about, and this represents that.

“[The Time to Race] watch is very personalised. It comes in unique pieces. The buyer can choose a number in one of the three colours that it comes in”

₹33,70,000

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“If someone chooses ‘17’ in blue, then that will be the only piece with that combination. There may be a 17 in green or red, but not another one in blue”

₹33,70,000

Check Our Selling Price

Like the Memoris, even the Time to Race watch focuses on the chronograph, while the timekeeping has been moved to a sub-dial at six o'clock, which also has the unique number of each piece

₹33,70,000

Check Our Selling Price

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What is the connection between Cosmic Art and the chronograph—Louis Moinet’s creation?

Moinet created the first high-frequency chronograph, running at 2,16,000vph. If you divide this by minutes and seconds, you’ll see that it beats 60 times in a second, so it could measure 1/60th of a second. He looked at the stars and the planets, and he wanted something to time the movement of stars in the sky while observing them, with the ability to start and stop the timer.

“I’m currently enjoying the Astronef—the inverted double tourbillon. It’s like a mechanical, animated sculpture”

“It has two moving tourbillons and a total of six elements that keep moving. Every time you look at the watch, it different, and unique”

How do you decide on model variations, and the number of pieces in limited editions?

Think of yourself as an artist. You have a blank canvas and you have colours. How do you paint? Do you think that Dali made this and Picasso made that, so you must do something different? No, you just express yourself. The basics of what we do is to create a new emotion—which can be a piece of a meteorite in the dial, or it could be about making the chronograph the centrepiece of the watch. Whether we bring the watch out in titanium or gold, it’s all a part of the process. For instance, for the India edition, we were asked why we didn’t make more than one. We believed we would express ourselves best with just one, unique piece and sometimes things aren’t done simply because of the demand or what will sell.

“Right now, though, I’m wearing the Memoris 40. It’s like diving into a mechanical world.” Schaller is referring to the skeletonised Memoris, which puts the chronograph in the centre and the regular timekeeping down to six o'clock. Seen here is an edition in 18-karat gold

Which watch are you presently enjoying?

The Astronef—the inverted double tourbillon. It’s like a mechanical, animated sculpture. It has two moving tourbillons and a total of six elements that keep moving. Every time you look at the watch, it different, and unique. That’s a strong emotion. Right now, though, I’m wearing the Memoris 40. It’s like diving into a mechanical world.