The Geograph Globe is poised to be the successor to the Rainforest limited edition, which has almost completely sold out. The piece features two incredibly slim aventurine dials – o.5 mm thick – on which any work is a perilous exercice. Just sixty such watches will be made.The Geograph is one of the timepieces which have created the Louis Moinet ethos, boasting the three essential characteristics in this respect: a chronograph; a powerful, creative style; and dials made out of a rare mineral. These three components were the starting-point for Louis Moinet, and they are coming into play once again with the Geograph to write a fresh page in the firm’s history with a new version: the Geograph Globe.
The Geograph Globe is even more exclusive than its predecessor: just 60 pieces. The dial counters are made of aventurine. This will be only the third time in the history of Ateliers Louis Moinet that aventurine has been used, following on from the AstroMoon Tourbillon and the Stardance.
Serendipity
Aventurine is a delightful serendipity: in the seventeenth century, glass-blowers scattered shards of metal in their glass. The unexpected result created quite a stir in royal courts – and at the great glass manufacturers, particularly at Murano.
Today, there are hardly any craftsmen who make it. Louis Moinet has been working with a few rare samples from the personal collection of Daniel Haas – the man already behind the Louis Moinet dials made from cosmic materials, comets and stardust.
An intricate craft
For the Geograph Globe, the two aventurine chronograph counters are no more than half a millimetre thick. Working on them is an exceedingly delicate task; it is not unusual to go through five before achieving a single perfect result.
