Louis Moinet Moon Race – A journey through space

Moon Race is perhaps the most exciting epic of modern times. This space race is staged through four key episodes in the conquest of the Moon. It combines the finest craftsmanship with lunar meteorite and the most spectacular natural stones

Text: Press Photo: Louis Moinet

These four creations all feature an authentic fragment of the spacecraft that shaped history. Each of them has travelled more than a million kilometres in interplanetary space before being presented in the Louis Moinet travel trunk, which invites you on a journey through space.

FIRST ON THE MOON | 1966

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Luna 9 was the Soviet space probe that made the first successful lunar soft landing. It was a real feat at the time, following a long series of failures. Soviet astronautics lost 26 space probes between 1962 and 1965 without a single success. Launched on January 31st 1966 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Luna 9 landed in the Ocean of Storms (Oceanus Procellarum) on February 3rd 1966, giving the world the first panoramic images of the lunar surfaceThe dial depicts the soft landing of Luna 9. The spacecraft is hand-engraved and then entirely painted. It includes an original piece of woven fibre from Luna 24. This piece made the journey from the Earth to the Moon and back – over a million kilometres through interplanetary space – aboard Luna 24. The Moon is entirely hand-engraved, then blackened in the old-fashioned way to give it an enigmatic appearance.

The sky is made of black astralite, also known as aventurine glass. This material has been preserved for more than 50 years to be used for a major artistic work. The countless sparkles of its particles resemble gold spangles, stars shining against the pure backdrop of the sky. The Earth is depicted in a highly detailed artistic miniature painting, standing out against the sky thanks to the volume of its applique.

Hand engravings on the bezel represent Luna 9, as well as the lunar landing capsule. Ejected just before the lunar impact, it then separated from the rest of the spacecraft. The 100-kilogram capsule hit the lunar surface at a speed of 4 to 7 metres per second, protected by an airbag. The first images of the Moon were taken by this capsule and sent back to Earth via its antennae.

MAN ON THE MOON | 1969

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AROUND THE MOON | 1970

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Apollo 13 is the third mission in the space programme to take a crew to the Moon. When landing at the Fra Mauro crater, a site heavily impacted by asteroids, a serious accident damaged the spacecraft. The mission was abandoned, and the return journey required going around the Moon before returning to Earth”Around the Moon” depicts the spectacular rescue of Apollo 13, which managed to reach Earth with a badly damaged spacecraft. The spacecraft is hand-engraved and then enhanced with a fragment of the polyimide film that protected it on its return journey, particularly during its atmospheric re-entry. This material travelled from the Earth to the orbit of the Moon and then back to Earth. In total, it travelled more than a million kilometres through interplanetary space aboard Apollo 13.

The spacecraft can be seen heading towards Earth, having circled the Moon. Onyx, a variety of agate used since antiquity for its deep black colour, embodies the mysterious face of the night star. It is set against granite from the Bernese Oberland, found by Daniel Haas at an altitude of over 2,000 metres.

The blue Pietersite from Namibia was chosen to evoke the beauty of the Earth. Its shimmering effect is due to the many multicoloured fibre inclusions that give it bluish tones with an incomparable silky appearance.

Mechanism, Calibre LM 35, 60-second tourbillon movement, awarded the Gold Medal at the last International Chronometry CompetitionBlack astralite completes the picture. This material has a history, since its origins date back to Murano at the beginning of the 17th century. It is the result of a lucky mistake – when a glassmaker dropped copper filings into molten glass that was slowly cooled – and its name comes from the Italian word “all’avventura”. That is why astralite is also known as aventurine, or even river gold.

The astralite adorning the Moon Race watch was acquired and carefully preserved by the father of Daniel Haas, our partner in the field of exceptional stones. The Haas family has been a pioneer in the sourcing and cutting of natural stone dials for two generations.

Hand engravings on the bezel represent the Odyssey service and command module, the only one capable of returning the crew to Earth with its heat shield. In the centre, a view of the Moon shows a distant Earth, the ultimate quest of the imperilled mission. Finally, we see the command module that landed in the Pacific Ocean.

LAST ON THE MOON | 1976

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Luna 24 is the last probe of the Luna programme to land on the Moon, in the unexplored region of Mare Crisium. It brought back 170 grams of lunar soil samples (regolith). The analysis of these samples proved to be valuable, proving the existence of water on the lunar regolith”Last on the Moon” is the final episode of the “Moon Race”. One of the results of Luna 24 was the proof of the existence of water on the Moon. Luna 24 is depicted on its journey back to Earth. Its prodigious design is hand-engraved, and a real piece of Luna 24 (resin-coated braided fibre) adorns its side. This material has travelled over a million kilometres through interplanetary space from the Earth to the Moon and back, aboard Luna 24. The Moon is shown here in high contrast, with copper etching to highlight its craters.

Another of Nature’s mysteries, azurite has been transformed into malachite by a phenomenon known as pseudomorphosis. This metamorphosis allows it to retain part of its appearance while morphing into malachite. The result is a very special mineral: azurite-malachite, which perfectly embodies the Earth.
It is complemented by a yellow Pietersite sun, which fully deserves its nickname of “storm stone”. It lights up the sky with black aventurine of exceptional quality.

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Sva četiri sata spremljena su u posebni kovčeg izrađen od prirodnog brijesta i ukrašen Fleur de Lys uzorkom. Unutrašnjost je prekrivena crnom kožom, a tu su i dva crteža Buya de Mornasa iz 18. stoljeća

The trunk evokes the journey through space. It houses the four one-of-a-kind “Moon Race” creations. It is made of natural elm burr wood and adorned with a black-lacquered Fleur de Lys pattern. The domed lid is topped by two cognac-coloured leather straps. Its interior is made of black leather, and the inside of the cover features an 18th century treasure: the drawings of the Sphere of Copernicus & Sphere of Ptolemy, by Buy de Mornas. The printing is enhanced with watercolours, making this creation truly one of a kindHand engravings on the bezel represent the Proton rocket, a Russian heavy launcher capable of placing a 22-tonne payload into low earth orbit. It was used on many Soviet space missions, including Luna 24. Developed in the early 1960s, this rocket remains Russia’s main launcher, with over 400 Protons launched to date.

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Sva četiri sata spremljena su u posebni kovčeg izrađen od prirodnog brijesta i ukrašen Fleur de Lys uzorkom. Unutrašnjost je prekrivena crnom kožom, a tu su i dva crteža Buya de Mornasa iz 18. stoljeća

The centre is decorated with lunar engravings, while the base of the bezel features the incredible design of the Luna 24 space probe.

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