Twelve meteorite fragments on one wristwatch.

 

To make it into the Guinness World Records, you either have to break an existing record or approach the experts with your own unique achievement. The Swiss watchmaker Louis Moinet has already done it twice.

 

The first entry in the reference book records the "Compteur de Tierces" created by the French clockmaker Louis Moinet in 1816 as the first high-frequency stopwatch and the first chronograph. And on September 21, 2023, a new title was awarded for "the most meteorite inserts in a watch".

 

The Cosmopolis watch was officially unveiled at the Genevan Musee d'Histoire des Sciences, which is ideally located in the exquisite 19th-century Villa Bartholoni. It's a space where art is interwoven with science.

 

The same can be said of the novelty presented by the head of the Louis Moinet brand Jean-Marie Schaller. In total, fragments from 12 different meteorites have been used on the watch. All of them are from Schaller's own personal collection, who's been collecting extraterrestrial arrivals for 20 years now.

 

The most interesting selection of meteorites has been chosen to grace the dial of the Cosmopolis, including the lunar meteorite Dhofar 461 with a white speckled interior, the rare Martian meteorite Dhofar 1674 (one of less than 300 currently identified Martian meteorites).

 

Also the Allende meteorite estimated to be 4.567 billion years old (older than planets in the Solar System), the Erg Chech meteorite (another peer of the Solar System), and the Jbilet Winselman meteorite with traces of amino acid, which could represent the first known traces of life in outer space.

 

Louis Moinet Cosmopolis
Louis Moinet Cosmopolis

Each of the cosmic ambassadors can tell us a little about the history of the Solar System. They've been used for the hour markers and dial center, creating a decorative backdrop for the flying tourbillon at 6 o'clock.

 

The frame for the display case that houses this mineralogical museum is a rose-gold watch case measuring 40.7 mm in diameter. It has lugs with openworked sides, and the name of the brand is engraved on the caseband.

The one-of-a-kind Louis Moinet Cosmopolis is equipped with a hand-wound movement. It's a "volte-face" double-barrel caliber, where one inverted barrel is mounted on top of the other to deliver a 96-hour power reserve.