Louis Moinet and Abraham-Louis Breguet shared a passion for complicated watches and a close personal friendship that had them collaborating on many of Breguet's early designs. Moinet also penned the Traite D'Horlogerie - the encyclopedia of watchmaking - a labor of love that reportedly took twenty years to complete. Today, Louis Moinet is a small group of exceptionally skilled designers and watchmakers headquartered in the Jura region. Moinet produces a very limited number of watches each year - less than two thousand pieces.
The Louis Moinet Variograph is a great example of the knack that Moinet has for integrating new and original complications into classic designs. In addition to hours, minutes, day, month and date indications; the Variograph is a chronograph with a 30 minute totaler. It also displays two very unique complications - a 'Full Moon Indication' which surpasses the typical moon phase illustration by providing the actual day of the full moon - and a 'World Map' which revolves once every 24 hours within the 9 o'clock subdial and allows the wearer to ascertain the current time throughout the world.
The dial on the Variograph is stellar with its Cotes du Jura and nicely contrasting design elements. The case of the Moinet Variograph is finished perfectly and designed so that it sits nicely on your wrist and, with its hand sewn Louisiana alligator strap and deployant buckle, is very comfortable to wear.
Moinet is doing everything right - unique complications and original designs, a small and carefully controlled production, rigid quality control and a customer centered philosophy.
