Tag: Louis Moinet JULES VERNE INSTRUMENT III


Louis MoinetJULES VERNE INSTRUMENT III

Like master watchmaker Louis Moinet, Jules Verne was a pioneering icon of the 19th century. While Moinet is a horological legend, Verne is considered to be the father of science fiction and today, February 8th, marks the 185th birthday of the French author.

To celebrate the occasion, they invite you to view our video about Jules Verne and his classic novel «Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea».

This famous novel and its protagonist Captain Nemo were the inspiration behind Louis Moinet’s Jules Verne Instrument III – a high-precision chronograph that might have been the perfect timepiece on the Captain’s wrist during his voyages in his submarine the Nautilus and confrontations with worlds unknown.

Louis Moinet – Jules Verne Instrument III

Since its launch last year, Louis Moinet – Jules Verne Instrument III has become one of our most acclaimed timepieces.

The inspiration behind this stunning chronograph is Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea, the classic novel by 19th century French author Jules Verne, whom many consider to be the father of science fiction. The novel’s hero Captain Nemo chooses voluntary exile from human society to sail the oceans aboard his Nautilus submarine.
The Jules Verne Instrument III is the perfect precision instrument for Captain Nemo – and who better to explain why than Jean-Michel Verne, a direct descendant of Jules Verne.
More on the steampunk front! I am happy that this trend isn’t waning away. Entry-level to super high-end watch makers are still dishing out pieces that look like retro futuristic artifacts. Perhaps not in the volume we would like, but we still get some good stuff. Louis Moinet has been doing steampunk Jules Verne homage watches for a few years. The newest one is this Jules Verne Instrument III timepiece.

The Jules Verne I & II watches were similar to one another and I did a hands-on review of one of them here. The III is actually supposed to be less expensive – by about half as much I think. I still like the Jules Verne Instrument I & II watches a lot, but the III adds a new flavor to the mix and is more reminiscent of other Louis Moinet timepieces. I further believe that it will be about half the cost of the other pieces.
All versions of the Jules Verne Instrument III watch will be limited editions of 365 pieces. The case is 45.5mm wide and 16.5mm tall with wide 24mm spaced lugs. The case will come in steel, titanium, or a version with titanium and 18k rose gold. The bezel is cool and the watch looks nice on the wrist, but I would have liked for it to be a bit more complicated in construction more akin to the brand’s other pieces. Though I do like the complicated look of the crown and monopusher for the chronograph.

The design of the Louis Moinet – Jules Verne Instrument III watch is said to be based on Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. I can totally see Captain Nemo wearing this watch, but aside from that I don’t see too many nautical elements in much of the design. There are the submarine instrument style hands sure, as well as the chadburn style function selector on the dial. This latter element is something that Louis Moinet developed for the watch. It tells you what the chronograph is doing. Which is sort of cool given that it is a monopusher. There is also the date on the dial.
The dial itself is pretty handsome with Louis Moinet’s special wiggly machine engraving. They have a name for it that I forgot. So I will stick with “wiggly sunburst.” A nice and elegant name, just like the Swiss want it, right? The hands on the dial could be a bit longer, and personally I would have ditched the skeletonization in favor of more lume. Using a base Swiss ETA 7750 automatic chronograph, Louis Moinet transforms it into their caliber LM30 automatic movement. There is a lot of work that went into the movement including new bridges, a special custom rotor, and lots of other little details. As I mentioned, the chronograph was turned into a monopusher chrono, with the chadburn style function selector on the dial. This isn’t the first time I have seen something like this – and it isn’t really a new function, but it is cool to have. I further like the fonts used on the dial.