SpotlightThe Charm Of The Black Onyx: Louis Moinet Impulsion Onyx Chronograph

The Louis Moinet Impulsion Onyx is the latest addition to the brand’s long, illustrious history of highly complicated chronographs. It is the third addition to earlier versions, named Impulsion (with a blue dial and strap) and Impulsion Artist’s Proof (featuring a blue and orange dial with yellow hands). The highlighting feature is the black onyx, a semiprecious stone belonging to the quartz family, perceived as the symbol of wisdom and balance. The stone is used as inserts on the dial and as the disc flanking the tourbillon cage, hand-cut by the in-house craftsmen at the Les Ateliers Louis Moinet in Les Breuleux, in the Swiss Jura Mountains. Adding an aura of fascination is the open dial offering unobstructed views of the black onyx and in-house Memoris movement.

Implusion Onyx: A Hat Tip To The Louis Moinet Chronograph Legacy

The best person to summarise the Louis Moinet Implusion Onyx is the brand’s owner and creative director, Jean-Marie Schaller, quoted on the brand website, saying, “This creation was named ‘Impulsion’, a word that highlights the energy that transfers life to the chronograph and the tourbillon and coalesces the two visual effects to produce a full-fledged ‘show’ as it were.”

In 1811, a decade after his invention of the tourbillon, Abraham-Louis Breguet hired a personal adviser, the young watchmaker Louis Moinet. Due to Moinet’s secretarial expertise and dedication to the job, he maintained comprehensive records of Breguet’s inventions and watch orders in chronological order. Along with this day job, Moinet burned the midnight oil working on his own inventions, and in 1816, unveiled the ‘Compteur de Tierces’ watch—what now in hindsight seems like the prototype of the modern-day chronograph. Two decades later, the brand Louis Moinet revived the Compteur de Tierces legacy with their Memoris chronograph; the first timepiece to introduce the chronograph mechanism on an open dial side. The recent Impulsion Onyx then, is a befitting extension of the chronograph legacy, presenting both tourbillon and chronograph mechanisms on the same dial operated by a single pusher.

Comprising 301 components, the movement carries forward signature traits such as the classic horizontal clutch and column wheel visible through the case, and the monopusher on the case

The brand innovated a manual double-barrel winding system for the 'Implusion' mechanism, formally called ‘volte-face’ double spring barrels—visible through the sapphire display back—and placed upside down. The barrels together release twice the amount of energy

Got The Moves Like Memoris Movement

Developed in partnership with the Concepto Watch Factory, the Impulsion is powered by the Louis Moinet Memoris LM114 calibre, enclosed within the 42.5mm case. Comprising 301 components, the movement carries forward signature traits such as the classic horizontal clutch, column wheel, and monopusher. The crux of the movement is the ‘Implusion’ mechanism—a combined operation of a hand-wound 60-second flying tourbillon and a monopusher, column-wheel chronograph. To pull off this feat, the brand innovated a manual double-barrel winding system, formally called ‘volte-face’ double spring barrels and placed upside down. Visible through the sapphire crystal display back, the barrels together release twice the amount of energy, provide a generous 96-hour power reserve, charge the small seconds and 30-minute counters, and stimulate the central chronograph hand to glide over the tourbillon carriage and complete one revolution per minute.

Attention To Finer Details

To keep the case lightweight as with the recent Louis Moinet chronograph launches, the Implusion Onyx features a 5N red gold outer case with light Grade 5 titanium as the mid case. Hollowed-out lugs further support the case to balance out the weight. The domed sapphire crystal provides improved legibility of viewing time, the dual sub-dials, plus appreciating the intricacies of the mechanism like the tiny red chronograph hands.

The Implusion Onyx flaunts a sleek black alligator leather strap. Aside the black onyx and open dial chronograph display, the Louis Moinet Implusion Onyx is quite the catch as the version is limited to only 28 pieces. This means, only 28 owners can acquire these timepieces and lend rarity to their watch collections