LOUIS MOINET – Mechanical Wonders 1816 Chronograph Titanium - 2025
1816
The year of the world’s first chronograph
1816 was one of the great turning points in watchmaking history. It is the year in which the great watchmaker Louis Moinet completed the world’s first chronograph.
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"Our roots are our future! And the 1816 is proof of this. Its originality and its sheer power carry the heritage of a pioneering work," - Jean-Marie Schaller, CEO & Creative Director.
1816: The Year of the World’s First Chronograph
Louis Moinet originally designed his novel instrument to carry out his celestial observations, which required precise calculations of the speed at which the stars moved. This «thirds counter» (compteur de tierces) was the first of its kind and a testament to the genius of its creator. Indeed, it was the first chronograph ever built.
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Louis Moinet’s brilliant creation incorporated numerous innovations, some of which would not be repeated until a century later. Today, this historic timepiece is carefully preserved in the Louis Moinet Museum in Saint-Blaise.
Reinventing Heritage: The 1816 Chronograph
A closer look at Louis Moinet’s new 1816 chronograph means taking a deep dive into over 200 years of history through a timepiece exhibiting a resolutely contemporary style. The DNA of the original timepiece, which with its sober, functional, and, for its time, avant-garde design, emerges in every detail. The aesthetic codes of the original model have been given a totally new interpretation but one that is always in keeping with the traditional codes of haute horlogerie. Let’s explore them.
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The slightly vaulted dial is both legible and functional. The chronograph hand is very visible and is accompanied by two totalizers — one for the hours, the other for minutes — along with a small seconds subdial. The whole is surrounded by a minute and seconds chapter divided in increments of six, recalling the original sixtieths of a second indication.
The hand-wound mechanism includes components specific to traditional watchmaking, such as an instantaneous minute counter, a column wheel, and swan-neck regulating spring.
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The whole ensemble forms a timeless haute-horlogerie timepiece. It is aimed at connoisseurs who want to wear a timepiece with strong evocative power.
A new in-house, traditionally conceived calibre for the 1816
The challenge when designing the 1816 was to preserve the quintessence of the original chronograph while integrating a movement that could meet all haute horlogerie standards. This entailed designing a fully integrated calibre, conceived from scratch, in collaboration with Concepto.
By the same token, the actual construction of the mechanism follows Louis Moinet’s avant-garde vision of the watch, with a distinct architecture for the movement and dial. Ever since, watchmaking has been driven by such aspects as functionality and mechanical elegance, aesthetics and legibility. For the 1816 timepiece, this is reflected in a calibre composed of 330 parts including 34 jewels. It beats at 28,800 vibrations per hour. It was developed exclusively for the 1816 chronograph so as to preserve the DNA of the “thirds counter,” the compteur de tierces, while adding a contemporary touch.
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The absence of a plate on the back reveals the grand interplay of shaped parts, overlapping planes and bridges, concatenated cogs, and chronometric controls. The contrasts are striking: the white of the steel, the satin finish and brassy hue of the bridges, the blue of the fixing screws, and the deep red of the rubies.
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The instantaneous minute counter prevents reading errors
The jumping minute counter precisely measures short intervals of time.
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The column wheel, the special component of high-end chronographs
First introduced in 1862, the column wheel is a ratchet wheel with six or nine triangular teeth or columns set at right angles to each other.
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It precisely coordinates the start, stop, and reset phases of the chronograph.
The swan-neck regulator, an ever-popular setting standard
The swan-neck regulator is a device consisting of a spring curved around the lever, which is acted upon by a micrometre screw allowing the fine adjustment of the watch’s rate.
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It was invented and patented in 1867, and is still highly prized for its sleek, elegant shape.
Louis Moinet’s Avant-Garde Vision and the 1816 Dial
From the end of the 18th century, as watch mechanisms became more precise, master watchmakers paid increasing attention to the aesthetics and legibility of their creations. Louis Moinet was no exception. The layout of the subsidiary counters on his compteur de tierces already anticipated the modern configuration of 20th-century chronographs. It established the perfect balance between functionality and design as a genuine measurement interface.
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The central chronograph hand, along with the counters’ hands, are out of blued steel. The hours and minutes are indicated by Louis Moinet-style openworked hands, with tips coated with SLN. Excellent readability is ensured thanks to the sharp contrast with the rhodium dial serving as a backdrop.
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The final touch is the fleur-de-lys logo at twelve o’clock. It pays homage to the city of Bourges, where Louis Moinet was born in 1768.
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"Our sincerest thanks go to Bernard Vuilliomenet and Dominique Fléchon, whose expertise and passion have been invaluable assets in rediscovering and illuminating the history of the world’s very first chronograph, created by Louis Moinet in 1816."
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TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Collection: Mechanical Wonders
Model: 1816 Chronograph Titanium
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Reference: LM-150.20.60
Material: Polished and satin-brushed grade 5 titanium
Diameter: 40.6 mm
Thickness: 14.7 mm
Sapphire crystal with double-sided anti-reflective treatment
Water-resistant to 30 meters
Dial
Rhodium dial
Construction : 23 parts
Finishing: bead-blasted
Markings: engraved
10 cabochons, blackened nickel
4 blued-steel screws
Counters: Satin-brushed ring, bead-blasted centre
Flange: Bead-blasted
Hours and minutes: Facetted and skeletonised, with luminescent matter
Blued-steel chronograph hand and totaliser hands
MOVEMENT
Calibre LM1816
Column-wheel chronograph
Hand-wound mechanical
Frequency: 4 Hz, 28'800 vph
Number of jewels: 34
Power reserve of 48 hours
Functions/Indications
Hours, minutes, seconds
Chronograph 60-second & 30-minute & 12-hour counter
STRAP
Grade 5 titanium bracelet
🔴 Price: on Request 💰
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Press Release - 2025
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