Louis Moinet extends their double tourbillon Astronef collection with a new funky model which they call the Techno with a dial made of silicon wafer.
Press Release information with commentary in italics.
New: Louis Moinet Astronef Techno
The Louis Moinet Astronef Techno has a suggested retail price of CHF 330,000. Piece unique.
Commentary
The Astronef collection was first released in 2021, and was a collaboration between the creative mind of Jean-Marie Schaller and Fabrice Gonet of Concepto. The movement showcased twin tourbillons, with their cages rotating in opposite directions. The Astronef was available in gold and titanium and with each version a limited edition of 8 pieces.
The movement is of considerable merit, and is a development over the work done for Louis Moinet’s Space Revolution. The two flying tourbillons have different rotation rates, and positioned at different levels. Both are driven by a differential located in the middle of the movement. The upper cage makes one rotation every 10 minutes, and the lower one every 5 minutes. Each tourbillon sits on one end of a long bridge which has a counterweight on the other side. The tourbillons thus visually overlap 18 times every hour, and make quite a spectacle.
- Click here for an animation which shows this concept of the 6 rotating elements, as used in the Space Revolution. The tourbillon remains the same, only the space ships on the SR is replaced by the more functional looking counterweights in the Astronef.
- Click here to see an animation showing the levels of the mechanism.
The case construction is also rather interesting. The bezel seems to float above the dial, and this is due to the architecture of the case. The case is a sapphire cylinder which is encased within a titanium base with openwork lugs and case middle. The case is rather large at 43.5mm for the titanium base, tapering to 41.6mm at the top.
The case back reveals a function selector for crown operations – power for winding and time set for the hands adjustment. This design eliminates the need to pull the crown.
However, this novelty is a piece unique, and is based on the same case, movement and design aesthetic as the predecessors. But with a dial made of a silicon wafer. This is not the first we have seen the use of the silicon wafer, a mainstay in the electronic industry where the millions of tiny bits of circuitry is crammed on a small space. And as many noticed, the wafer does have a distinctive look, with the elements catching light to make sparkling reflections in many colours. The first watch to take advantage of this rather beautiful effect is the Hermès Cape Cod crépuscule, a collaboration with the Swiss Center for Electronics and Microtechnology to produce a silicon wafer dial. The dial carries an abstract motif of a dusk on the ocean by Vietnamese graphic artist Thanh-Phong Lê. Louis Moinet themselves have used this unique looking dial in their Only Watch 2023 offering – the Art-Tech: Lot 38, which used the same single tourbillon movement as selected for the Savanna Tourbillon released earlier this year. This time, Louis Moinet chose to use the dial on their double tourbillon – the Astronef.
Pricing wise, this piece unique is at the same level as with the other Astronef models, coming in at about CHF 330k, which is about CHF 30k less than the gold version.
Release information
ASTRONEF TECHNO
A visual revolution in mechanical art
“Watchmaking of the future is all about defying conventions, exploring startling horizons and making emotional connections a key part of the concept. The ASTRONEF TECHNO is my own vision for the future. It is the perfect fusion of ancient watchmaking traditions with the inventiveness of our time. Altogether, this timepiece represents a continuous quest for innovation.”
Jean-Marie Schaller, Owner and Creative Director
Louis Moinet has generated horological adrenaline by matching revolutionary mechanics with high-end materials. The result: a series of masterpieces that are both innovative and very expressive, like the ASTRONEF TECHNO. This timepiece pairs a silicon wafer engraved with microelectronic circuits with an ingenious double satellite tourbillon, thus producing a never-seen visual spectacle.
As the namesake of the brand did in his time, Louis Moinet is paving the way to the future of watchmaking with this outstanding creation.
Genesis of the ASTRONEF TECHNO: a quest without limits
When it comes to watchmaking, the Louis Moinet mantra is “to produce an outstanding and engaging effect.” As such, the ASTRONEF TECHNO positions itself as a daring explorer of new horological frontiers. It’s a quest that Louis Moinet himself would be proud of, since he also sought to push the limits of watchmaking in his day, notably, in 1816, by conceiving and building the world’s first chronograph.
Animating a work of art
The ASTRONEF TECHNO features two satellite tourbillons that revolve around the dial and create a harmonious ballet in the process. They are inside cages each rotating at a different rate, the one in ten minutes, the other in five. Every three minutes and twenty seconds, the two tourbillons align perfectly, which demands perfect synchronization and accuracy, the ASTRONEF’s superpower, as it were.
These tourbillons, with their delicate and crisp lines, barely weigh 0.25 grams each. The counterweight is a real exploit in terms of design and engineering. It adds to the spectacle, creating a kind of intimate pas de trois, merging art, engineering, and motion, thanks to a central differential. Needless to say, it increases the watch’s precision.
The movement side of the ASTRONEF TECHNO is just as impressive. The open case back reveals two barrel springs, one for each tourbillon, delivering a 48-hour power reserve. The LM 105 calibre, which includes sixteen ceramic ball bearings, runs this mechanical show. It took three intense years to make.
And there are other innovations. The crown, for instance, has been entirely reinvented and no longer needs to be pulled. Instead, a selector, cleverly integrated into the case back, is used to control two key functions, time-setting and winding.
The epitome of tech-art
The ASTRONEF TECHNO has taken an edgy material and turned it into a work of animated art. The timepiece’s double satellite tourbillon travels over a canvas carefully cut from a silicon wafer, an exacting material upon which the engraved microelectronic circuits appear as a kind of complex technological decoration. The modern dial catches the light with every move of the wrist, turning it into a kaleidoscope of sparkling reflections and transforming this masterpiece of mechanical watchmaking into a mesmerising visual experience.
Harmony of content and form
The case for the ASTRONEF TECHNO’s exceptional mechanism is the product of imaginative engineering: It is made up of a bold ensemble of sapphire band, flange and top resting on a grade-5 titanium frame.
The lugs have been carefully openworked, which enhances the feeling of lightness. It’s a unique concept for a casing and it gives the timepiece its resolutely avant-garde look.
The Louis Moinet ASTRONEF TECHNO weaves together time and space on a canvas that appears to be constantly in motion. This fusion of the visually compelling microelectronic wafer with the dance of the tourbillons above it creates a unique artistic event that opens a new era in horology.
