A spectacular wristwatch of exceptional beauty and unconcealed technical complexity, the Memoris Superlight Midnight Blue chronograph by independent Swiss manufacture Louis Moinet is a masterpiece of contemporary haute horlogerie, originally conceived to mark the two hundredth anniversary of this revolutionary complication, and a watch with an absolutely captivating presence.

Boasting an eye catching cutaway display, against the backdrop of a deep, dark midnight blue mainplate, the Memoris Superlight is a breathtaking celebration of the technical sophistication of the classic chronograph complication, which was first created by the company’s namesake and original founder Louis Moinet in 1815.

Manufactured in a 46mm case of Grade 5 titanium, the Memoris features a single pusher its curvaceous mid-section has a satin-smooth brushed finish, and is inscribed with the name of Louis Moinet engraved along the left side, while the brand’s ubiquitous six-lobed bezel is fixed onto the case via screws, and features alternating brushed and polished finishing.

Designed and conceived in a collaboration with high-end mechanical movement specialists Concepto, and manufactured in the Louis Moinet ateliers near the shore of Lake Neuchâtel, the Memoris Superlight is a contemporary testament to two centuries of watchmaking history. With its remarkable ‘split movement’ the sophistication of the chronograph mechanism’s architecture is fully exposed in isolation on the dial side, while the automatic mechanism, as well as the regulating assembly of balance and escapement are visible on the underside, behind an 18 karat gold oscillating weight decorated with deeply engraved guillochage.

The sapphire crystal is gently domed, and beneath it, the dial is a three dimensional display of levers, wheels, sapphire subdials, and a small off centre dial of grand feu enamel at the six o’clock position, on which the hours and minutes are displayed with dewdrop hands. A pair of clear sapphire rings display the constant running seconds and the thirty minute chronograph counter at the nine and three respectively, and allow for an unrestricted and mesmerising vista of the mechanism below.

Contrasting against the midnight blue backdrop of the movement plate, the rhodiumised components of the chronograph are accentuated above its surface. he distinctive column wheel with its crown of teeth, which defines the contemporary chronograph is directly below the twelve, and is the command centre to the levers which activate and control the lapsed time complication.

Beating within at a brisk 28’800vib/h (4Hz), the Calibre LM54 self-winding movement is specifically designed for Memoris, and with its two sided configuration, which separates the chronograph on the dial-side from the rest of the mechanism on the underside, is unique to the series.

A superb contemporary wristwatch which celebrates one of the most familiar yet complex of all horological complications, the Louis Moinet Memoris Superlight Midnight Blue is a chronograph of mesmerising sophistication, and takes the company’s own two hundred year old innovation into the twenty-first century. It has been manufactured in an exclusive production of only twenty-eight examples, and is presented on a matching dark blue alligator leather strap with folding titanium clasp.