Louis Moinet has decided to mark the brand's 20th anniversary by bringing one of the famous movements of the past back to life.

The new Speed of Sound is equipped with a Valjoux 88 hand-wound chronograph movement. The number of Valjoux 88 movements manufactured over its production life spanning more than a quarter of a century is believed to surpass the 13,000 mark.

The 1940s movement in Louis Moinet's anniversary model has been engraved and decorated with a traditional floral motif. A view of the classically decorated movement is revealed through the transparent caseback. This contrasts with the design of the dial, configured in Louis Moinet's own signature style.

Louis Moinet couldn't resist adding a few favorite meteorites — the brand's collection even includes a watch that features no less than twelve different types of meteorites. Aletai iron meteorite found in China is used for the small seconds and 30-minute chronograph counter, both encircled by rose-gold scales.

A fragment of the Dhofar 457 meteorite found in Oman is also used in the moon-phase display. The display works as follows: on a full moon, the meteorite fragment aligns with one of the two pointers positioned at 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock. The name "Speed of Sound" wasn't chosen at random.

The dial engraved with a guilloché pattern by Yann von Kaenel is framed by a modern telemeter scale, which allows you to measure distances using the speed of sound. A typical example of how this works would be to start the chronograph when lightning strikes and stop it when you hear the thunder.

Louis Moinet's press material states that the main idea behind this model was to take the historic Valjoux 88 caliber and create a modernized chronograph housed in a case with a contemporary design.

But against a backdrop of futuristic timepieces by numerous brands — skeletonized chronographs where bridges transform a watch into a spaceship — the Speed of Sound has a very traditional look.  The distinction from historical counterparts is in the details.

For example, the case with classic pump-style pushers is made of titanium. It measures 40.7 mm × 18.87 mm and is worn on a leather strap. Availability of the watch is limited to a 20-piece series.