ReviewIntroducing The Louis Moinet Midnight Star

‘As such, it will guide its owner into the universe itself, to faraway, unexplored worlds,’ is how Louis Moinet describe their Midnight Star range—a series of three chronographs inspired by travel. The brand, noted for embedding fragments of Martian and lunar meteorites in their timepieces, has implanted a shard of the rare Armanty meteorite at the hour counter of each Midnight Star, available in blue, black and white dial options; each version, a 28-piece limited run edition. Moreover, a netted textured upper dial, galactical illustrations, a star-tipped GMT hand, and other such finer details define the Louis Moinet Midnight Star.

Beauty In Tricompax Layout: Louis Moinet Midnight Star

The Louis Moinet Midnight Star is another example of the brand’s focus in showcasing superior craftsmanship of their in-house watchmaking artisans. Its 46mm case displaying a curved silhouette is fashioned from grade-5 titanium, a sturdy but lightweight material that doesn’t feel heavy on the wrist. Nestled within is the tricompax dial, comprising a 30-minute counter at 12 o’clock, date display at nine o’clock and second time zone at six o’clock. At the coaxial of both the vertically aligned sub-dials are ruby chatons; each of them laboratory grown crystals in the Vernueil procedure that uses high flame to produce the artificial specimen.

Displaying cartographical flourish is the 12 o’clock counter, with the coaxial resembling North Pole from which springs a webby maze of latitudes and longitudes that fan out to occupy the top half of the dial

The Celestial Themed Louis Moinet Midnight Star

Embellishing this bottommost counter is a fragment of the Armanty meteorite, with blue tint, one-of-its-kind Widmanstätten texture and high content of ferro-nickel alloy. The celestial body originally belonged to an asteroid belt that existed between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, over a million years ago. This belt combusted into shards, many of which formed a new orbit, and in time, rained down on Earth in the form of a meteorite. Continuing the outworldly theme is the date aperture, producing a moment of awe with its rotating hand shaped like a falling star. Displaying cartographical flourish is the 12 o’clock counter, with the coaxial resembling North Pole from which springs a webby maze of latitudes and longitudes that fan out to occupy the top half of the dial. Flickers of red hue accentuate the dial via a long, slim seconds hands and star tip of the curvy GMT hand. This hand leads the owner to a third time zone occupying the chapter ring. The pair of lume-tipped skeletal hour and minute hands completes the timekeeping experience. Protecting the dial and open-worked caseback are antireflective sapphire crystals to encourage readability under harsh glare or poor light.

A crown and two pushers on the right side of the case allow for prompt adjustments to the time and date with start, stop and reset functions

The Louis Moinet Midnight Star in blue features an alligator leather strap in matching tone and comes secured to a titanium folding clasp that matches the case

A crown and two pushers on the right side of the case allow for prompt adjustments to the time and date with start, stop and reset functions. Powering the Midnight Star trip is the in-house LM24 manufacture calibre, self-winding mechanical movement visible at the caseback, which beats at 28,800vph and offers upto 48 hours or two days of power reserve when fully wound. The monochrome dial versions feature black alligator leather straps, and the blue version gets a matching coloured strap; all three straps are secured to titanium folding clasps.

As the Louis Moinet Midnight Star marries travel with astronomy, horological craftsmanship, and high complications, it becomes a boon for both, the star gazers and the flight takers.