Louis Moinet reimagines a legacy: the 1816 chronograph

In 1816, master watchmaker Louis Moinet completed a world first — the chronograph. More than two centuries later, the Maison that bears his name celebrates this turning point in horological history with a new creation: the 1816 chronograph, a timepiece that honours its past while shaping its future.

The new 1816 retains the avant-garde essence of the original, reinvented with modern proportions and finishes. Its 40.6 mm case, crafted in polished and satin-finished grade 5 titanium, features Louis Moinet’s signature double gadroons and Directoire-style semi-bassine profile. Two discreet pushers frame the winding crown, engraved with the fleur-de-lys, a nod to Moinet’s birthplace in Bourges. Completing the architecture is the Maison’s first-ever integrated titanium bracelet, Project BRIDGE, with curving, sculptural links that blend ergonomics with elegance.

The dial is a study in clarity and depth. Composed of 23 elements, it arranges its counters with harmony: a 30-minute totaliser and small seconds at the top, balancing a 12-hour register below. Satin-brushed annular dials, engraved Arabic numerals, and blued steel hands ensure exceptional legibility, while the openworked Louis Moinet-style hour and minute hands glow with SLN. Around the periphery, a chapter ring divided in six recalls the original sixtieths of a second indication, mounted with blued screws in tribute to the 1816 prototype. At twelve o’clock, the fleur-de-lys emblem crowns the composition.

Inside beats a newly conceived in-house calibre, built from scratch to meet haute horlogerie standards while preserving the DNA of the historic “compteur de tierces.” With 330 components and 34 jewels, the hand-wound movement features a column wheel, swan-neck regulator, and instantaneous minute counter. Its open architecture reveals a vivid interplay of brushed bridges, polished steel, blue screws, and ruby-red jewels.

The 1816 chronograph is both tribute and transformation — a bridge across centuries, proof that Louis Moinet’s pioneering vision still drives horology forward.