The Louis Moinet brand is organising an exhibition that highlights part of its heritage, in cooperation with the wellknown retailer A. Collet SA, in Geneva.
The great watchmaker Louis Moinet (1768-1853) is renowned for having reached the peak of his art. His clocks, representing masterpieces of art and mechanical engineering, were intended for the eminent figures of his time. Two American presidents, Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe, as well as Napoleon, George IV of England and Marshal Ney, all shared the habit of reading the time on the dial of a Louis Moinet clock.
Two of these clocks are on show at Collet jeweller’s until the end of February 2008. The first dates back to approximately 1825, strikes the half-hours and depicts the Roman emperor Nero in a beautifully crafted gilded bronze. The second stems from a small series that includes the one made for Thomas Jefferson, currently exhibited at the Monticello Museum in Virginia, USA. Thomas Jefferson became acquainted with Louis Moinet while he was serving as the United States ambassador in Paris, and commissioned this work of art while specifying his own criteria of beauty, durability and usefulness. The clock fulfilled its role, accompanying President Jefferson throughout his term of office in the White House and right through to the end of his life.
A copy of the famous Traité d’Horlogerie (treatise on horology) published by Louis Moinet (1848) is also presented.The author devoted over twenty years of his life to writing this learned work dedicated to the finest watchmaking techniques and reputed as the finest of the century.
The exposition also features more recent unique watches, such as the first Chronovintage, a chronograph driven by an extremely rare movement of which any remaining stocks are exhausted. Some one-of-a-kind models are also on display, such as the entirely diamond-pavé ladies’ Monte Cristo model equipped with a very rare movement featuring a balance with screws. Louis Moinet is and remains a highly exclusive brand with a strictly limited production reserved for connoisseurs of fine watchmaking. Its watches are all sold overseas, and this exhibition is a first in Switzerland.
Louis Moinet Chronovintage, a chronograph driven by an extremely rare movement
Source: Les Ateliers Louis Moinet SA
www.louismoinet.com
Contact:info@louismoinet.com
(Please credit europastar.com)
 |
