ReviewThe Symphony Of Time On Your Wrist: Trilobe’s Les Matinaux Watches

A lot goes into making a successful watch brand. The product itself is the most integral part of how you’re going to be perceived, but its nuances—such as what you stand for, how you portray it, and what you communicate—are what set you apart. Right from Trilobe’s very first collection, Les Matinaux, they achieved what seems like a Herculean task for a new-age watch brand: finding their own voice. In short, the Les Matinaux watches feature their prose view of watchmaking and their commitment to rewriting how time is told, all in a magnificent display. Let’s take a look at everything Lex Matinaux has to offer.

Les Matinaux By Trilobe: Rewriting The Language Of Time

As a new, independent watchmaking brand, what’s needed to get people talking about you is a splash. The first watches by Trilobe, launched in 2018, did just that.

For starters, the watches featured a whole new way of telling the time. Instead of the conventional hands, three rings rotate around different axes on the dial, with the largest peripheral ring displaying hours, the median for minutes, and the smallest for seconds. The Trilobe logos on the dial that seem to be placed arbitrarily are where the information is read from. That’s not all; the rings all move counterclockwise. ‘Thus another vision of time is born. Hands-less, but with a sprinkle of magic,’ the brand stated.

The ‘randomness’ of the Trilobe logos is not as random as it seems, added to evoke ‘a touch of poetry and eccentricity on your wrist,’ as stated by the maison. Housed within the 40.5mm or 38.5mm cases of these watches are dial colours that further add to the eccentricity, with colours including sunray blue, sunray green, sunray carmine, to name a few.

What separates the Les Matinaux watches from the rest of Trilobe’s repertoire is the skeleton design on the seconds disc, inspired by the ‘rose window’ at the Sainte-Chapelle, a ‘radiant’ piece of architecture in Paris. This skeletonisation is a luminous and subtle invitation to the heart of the movement—the X-Centric calibre, which, in itself, is quite the beast.

The X-Centric calibre is equipped with a micro-rotor and gives the watches a power reserve of 48 hours. It’s a signature automatic movement developed exclusively by Trilobe, which doesn’t come as a surprise, really.

Les Matinaux’s Secret That Hides In Plain Sight

When you construct a canvas this good, the art to follow is bound to be a masterpiece. Such was the case with the Les Matinaux ‘Secret’ watches. The difference is obvious at first glance: the ‘Secret’ edition watches feature a starry pattern on the dial.

The starry sky is actually a freeze frame for a selected point in time, which maps out the sky from the day, time, and place a person selects. It builds perfectly on the already artful collection and offers a pinch of personalisation that can immediately hold great value for the wearer.

Moreover, once the starry pattern is activated by a UV light, the drawn stars come to life and light in order to illuminate the chosen moment, as pictured below.

The starry sky is a freeze frame for a selected point in time, which maps out the sky from the day, time, and place a person selects. It builds perfectly on the already artful collection and offers a pinch of personalisation that can immediately hold great value for the wearer

₹28,10,000

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The Les Matinaux watches straddle the line between being a work of art to be adored and being a conversation starter, yet practical timepiece. With the ‘Secret’ edition watches, the personalisation takes it all up a notch

₹28,10,000

Check Our Selling Price

The Les Matinaux watches straddle the line between being a work of art to be adored and being a conversation starter, yet practical timepiece. With the ‘Secret’ edition watches, the personalisation takes it all up a notch.

L’inspiration Behind Les Matinaux

Putting mechanical prowess and the poetic way of telling the time aside, the inspiration behind the watch is equally unique. The term ‘les matinaux’ translates to ‘dawn breakers’, which is a tribute to a poem collection by René Char, one of the best French poets in history.

Furthermore, here’s what prompted Trilobe’s founder, Gauthier Massonneau, to create his own brand: not being able to afford his desired watch at the time. So, of course, he decided to make his own watch. Unlike traditional watchmakers with long family histories, Massonneau’s journey took a different path.

As the son of an architect and interior designer, with a background in banking and finance, the influence in his life was unique—something the founder would reap the benefit of.

The term ‘les matinaux’ translates to ‘dawn breakers’, which is a tribute to a poem collection by René Char, one of the best French poets in history

₹11,90,000

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As the son of an architect and interior designer, with a background in banking and finance, the influence in the life of Trilobe's founder was unique—something he would reap the benefit of

₹11,90,000

Check Our Selling Price

Gauthier Massonneau's unconventional journey into watchmaking adds depth to the brand's narrative, infusing it with a spirit of determination and creativity

₹11,90,000

Check Our Selling Price

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Gauthier Massonneau’s unconventional journey into watchmaking adds depth to the brand’s narrative, infusing it with a spirit of determination and creativity. Right from their first collection, the brand have established themselves to have a voice of their own, with accolades aplenty to back that claim.

Every watch the Trilobe have produced since 2018 has been in a league of its own, but it’s Les Matinaux that set the stage for them to propel themselves. Just like the brand find a voice of their own, wearing the timepiece will make it an addition to your personality instead of the watch wearing you, which may just be the case with some very well-known watches out there.