Not all images were able to load for printing. Please close the print window and try again. A Fusion of History and Modernity, the Louis Moinet 1816 Tourbillon Chronograph
Celebrating the founding fathers of modern watchmaking, the third and most technically sophisticated model in the historical sequence adds a tourbillon to the mix.
Louis Moinet (1768-1853) wanted an accurate instrument to track celestial motions and built the Compteur de Tierces in 1815-1816. Endowed with a start, stop and reset function and a balance wheel beating at an impressive high frequency of 30Hz, his novel stopwatch could time events to the 60th of a second. Considered one of the precursors of the modern chronograph, Louis Moinet’s 1816 invention was rediscovered in 2013. Released as part of a historical sequence, Louis Moinet unveils the 1816 Tourbillon Chronograph, the third in the series. Honouring Louis Moinet’s 210-year chronograph heritage in 2026, the model ups the complexity with the incorporation of a flying tourbillon.
The 1816 Tourbillon Chronograph writes the third chapter in the brand’s historical narrative. The first in the series is the 1806 Chronomètre d’Observatoire that references Louis Moinet’s commitment to astronomical precision and observatory-style chronometry. The second is the 1816 Chronograph, which revives the 1-6-11 sub-dial layout of the original Compteur de Tierces, combined with a beautiful new classical chronograph movement.
While many features of the historic 19th-century invention have been preserved, the watches are also defined by a coherent, contemporary design language, in 40.6 mm lightweight titanium cases with integrated bracelets. Often described as the founding fathers of modern watchmaking, Louis Moinet and Abraham-Louis Breguet shared a close friendship and worked together from 1815 to 1832. The most ambitious version of the trilogy, the 1816 Tourbillon Chronograph, unites their inventions in one watch. The movement is not new and was previously featured in openworked models, like the Impulsion Tourbillon Chronographs of 2023 and 2025.
As a monopusher chronograph, the new reference has one large pump-style pusher on the case at 2 o’clock, in line with Louis Moinet’s steampunk aesthetic. Crafted from grade 5 titanium, the wide 15.1mm-thick case retains the profile of Moinet’s neoclassical original with a shallow, smooth, basin-like profile highlighted with gadroons. In contrast to the large pusher and crown, the finishes are modern with alternating polished and satin-brushed surfaces that continue along the integrated, fluid titanium bracelet with broad brushed links and polished bevels.
Like the remarkably legible and modern dial of the original, the grey rhodium-plated dial with subtle blue and ruby details delivers the information with impeccable clarity. The two sub-dials – 30-minute elapsed times and running seconds at 3 and 9 o’clock, respectively – are aligned horizontally and feature a satin-brushed ring with Arabic numerals and a recessed beadblasted area with a ruby-set barrel flanked by two polished screws and blued hands with circular open tips.
The large aperture for the flying tourbillon reveals an off-centred blue DLC-coated cage. Like the blued hands in the counters, the central chronograph seconds hand is blued with an open-tipped counterweight, and the hour and minute hands have a strip of luminescent material. The satin-brushed peripheral railway track with discreet hemispherical markers for the hours features four blued screws in the same position as the original. The inscriptions, numerals and the name Louis Moinet recreate the original typeface.
At the heart of the watch is the calibre LM114, a manual-winding column-wheel monopusher chronograph and a flying tourbillon, made in collaboration with partner Concepto with double barrels for a robust 96-hour power reserve. The 1816 Tourbillon Chronograph is a limited edition of 12 pieces and retails for USD 135,000. More information at louismoinet.com.
