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Review of Louis Moinet Twintech
[NOTE – the following is my personal opinion of my recent purchase of the Louis Moinet Twintech watch. I am not associated with Louis Moinet, the management of this forum, or in fact any aspect of the watch industry other than as a consumer/purchaser. The opinions below are mine and are shared for no reason other than in an attempt to share with fellow watch enthusiasts my experience, feelings, and thoughts on this watch.]
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It all started as I flipped through the 2007 wristwatch guide one night while my wife was reading a book. She looked over to see me one again nose deep into a watch publication and signed. (An experience unique to me I’m sure.)
“Buying another one?” she asked.
“Don’t know” I replied taking my glasses off to see the look on her face, “Why?”
“Because they all look the same, why do you need more?” she challenged.
I began to explain the difference in movements; my desire to limit my collection to in-house designed movements, limited editions, and unique pieces; my enjoyment of staying abreast of the markets. She grabbed the book and said, “What’s really important is how it looks! Nothing else matters.”
Flipping through the pages she said, “How about this one?” Pointing to an Urwerk.
After explaining the price of the affordable Urwerk, and assuring her that until we win the lottery, there would only be an Urwerk in my future if someone sent it to me as a gift, (Hint, Hint to anyone reading), she said “Let me go through this book, mark the ones that look good, and you can go from there.”
And so the journey towards the Louis Moinet Twintech began.
She placed little hearts next to the dozen or so models that she liked and I began the research of filtering them through my criteria: in-house designed movement; limited in development sue to limited edition or scarce production; calendar (the one complication I use every day); and larger in size (42mm +/- 2mm roughly).
Once I determined that the Twintech met the criteria I began to research the company and look for any feedback. To be honest, there wasn’t much. Lots of coverage of the PR activities, photos of the various models, blogs comments on the design and desire to acquire.
So I began looking for an authorized dealer in the states so I could see the watch and found that there was not one. (Though this may be changing soon.) taking a shot, I sent an email to the address on the site and within days heard back from Jean Marie Schaller, the owner of Louis Moinet. Long story a but shorter, after a few emails and a call or two I placed an order for number 28 of 60 in charcoal. It was just before Basel and with the inventory going to the show, the watch shipped to me about 4 weeks later. From the moment it arrived, it was very impressive.
The box was large…
…inside, a very nice document holder, manual, and certificate of origin…
…the inner box was in the form of a book, with spine and cover art…
…opening the “book” and the watch is presented…
…first thing I noticed was the rich details on the dial. The size was wonderful and the piece plenty heavy in weight.
The face is divided into three sections – the date in a retrograph display from 12 to 3, a power indicator from 3 to 6, and an open window from 8 to 10 showing the escape. As this close-up shows, the detailing is very nice. The numbers are colored “old rose” which contrast to the grey/charcoal dial color nicely. The hands are not as much of a contrast which makes quick glance reading a bit hard in darker lighting however, the lighter luminance areas work well if you have just come in from the sunlight, and even when not “illuminated” are light enough to stand out from the dial. There is an Old Rose colored face with charcoal numbers, which seems, from the pictures, to be a bit easier to read. Once I got used to where to look, I have had no real trouble seeing the time with a quick glance.
My only real complain on the face is the date indicator is hard to read with the numbers a bit small. Larger numbers and fewer numbers with more hashes would be better. The power indicator is easy to read and the watch does seem to hold about 120 hours with its two barrels (thus the name Twintech). These are easy to see via the exhibition back.
The barrels are covered contrasting metal and engraved with the four icons of the brand. If you noticed, two of these are on the front as well with one being the rear extension of the second hand. The strap has a folding buckle and the crown repeats the logo once again.
You will notice above the push button for setting the date, which is a nice feature. Another very nice feature is the stop second hand when the crown is pulled out allowing for precise setting. The date also requires the crown to be pulled to set.
As I understand, Louis Moinet (the man) designed the movement in 1848 and a limited number have been made under the direction of the modern Louis Moinet (the company).
Full disclosure - In the first day after arriving, the crown stopped engaging and I could not set the time or date. A small part became visible in the exhibition back and off to the manufacturer the watch went. Four weeks later, it returned good as new with the trigger replaced. All seems fine in the two weeks since it returned. Things can go wrong with small parts and international shipments. I found Jean Marie to be easy to work with, the watch to be what I hoped, and the experience pleasant.
To be able to have a watch that matches my wife’s design sense as well as my technical and collector’s sense is wonderful. This message has been edited by AnthonyTsai on 2007-07-02 15:44:44
