The mysteries of space have fascinated people for centuries and dreams of being an astronaut have crossed every child’s mind at least once! The idea of floating in a sea of stars, looking down on the whole world seems like the stuff of a George Lucas movie, and Star Trek has an almost cult-like following. 53 years ago, in 1965, Russian cosmonaut Alexey Leonov made history by being the first man to fulfil the fantasies of many and undertake a spacewalk. At Baselworld 2018, Ateliers Louis Moinet has honoured his legacy by introducing their new, limited edition Spacewalker timepiece.
Making use of special and rare materials, including fragments of meteorites or fossils and creating extremely limited-edition watches, has become the pillar of Louis Moinet’s heritage, and the brand has carved a niche for itself in the world of fine watchmaking.
The Spacewalker, limited to just 12 hand-engraved pieces each in rose or white gold, is a demonstration of the creativity, mechanical prowess and exceptional artistic ability of the watchmakers at Louis Moinet.
The dial of the Spacewalker is an exquisite work of art, depicting star-studded space and a breathtaking nebula, both crafted using a secret innovative method and depicting an explosion of bright, breathtaking colours.
Shine Bright Like A Diamond
A tourbillon at 12 o’clock represents Alexey Leonov’s spaceship, and the diamond that revolves around the tourbillon is meant to be a likeness of Leonov himself as he floated in space. By using a diamond, Louis Moinet has recognized Alexey Leonov’s codename on his space mission, Almaz-2, almaz being the Russian word for diamond.
The unimaginable vastness of space is reincarnated on an aventurine background which becomes transparent when exposed to light.
The sapphire crystal dial provides a view of the exquisite movement that powers the Spacewalker timepiece, and the hours and minutes are indicated at 6 o’clock by the brand’s iconic ‘dewdrop’ hands
In addition to the 12 engraved limited-edition pieces in rose and white gold, Louis Moinet has also produced 18 un-engraved pieces to mark the date of the historic event. Each Spacewalker timepiece comes with an alligator leather strap and a 44.7mm dial.