Louis Moinet
Memoris
$71,869
Louis Moinet has intorduced FLASH, the newest member of its TIME TO RACE family, and it leans hard into the idea that a race, like a chronograph reading, comes down to a sliver of time. The watch is offered in two versions, one in grade 5 titanium and one in 18 ct red gold, and both carry over the Lucky Number that has become a signature of the collection: a digit chosen by the owner and given out only once per edition. That number sits front and center on an off centre black dial, rendered in white so it’s the first thing you notice, with the rest of the chronograph’s column wheel architecture built up around it and visible through a domed sapphire crystal.
Louis Moinet combined a matt graphite tone, which gives the watch its technical, businesslike presence, with a warm gold shade meant to recall the look of old gear trains and the era of Grand Prix racing when mechanical artistry and motorsport were closely linked. That gold shows up in a lot of places once you start looking, on the tachymeter scale, around the flange that frames the dial, on a pair of exposed screws, and running through the hour, minute, and chronograph seconds hands. Smoked sapphire counters and a woven carbon fiber base add texture, and two graphite colored triangles on the dial give the whole layout a sense of order and forward motion. The case carries that same energy, with curved satin finished lugs, a crown guard, and a shape clearly meant to feel quick.
Turn the watch over to admire the movement. The monopusher chronograph mechanism runs on 147 components, working through a rocker, clutch, hammers, and column wheel, while the automatic movement underneath adds another 164 parts. The oscillating weight is openworked and finished in matte black, set against rhodium plated bridges. FLASH feels like a watch with the same precision and intent as the cars it’s inspired by.
