Louis Monet Starman Flying Tourbillon

The Louis Monet Starman is the latest release from a small Swiss brand that specializes in creating rare and extraordinary timepieces. The brand often blends exotic materials with high-level complications. Due to their low production numbers, Louis Monet watches are not for everyone, but they are always worth a look.

Any release from Louis Monnet is worth further investigation. Owner and creative director Jean-Marie Schaller is a fun guy to talk to, and while he and his team are building serious watches, they seem to be having fun while they’re doing it. We’ve seen it at events like Geneva Watch Day, and it’s a breath of fresh air after so many hotel room discussions. The latest model, the Starman, combines the tourbillon with two completely different-looking meteorite fragments.

Louis Monet’s Starman

The Starman is a 47.4 mm watch made of 18K white gold or 5N red gold. Louis Monet didn’t reveal the thickness, but the two sapphire crystals and tourbillon likely make this a tall watch. The back of the bezel, which is secured with six screws, has a similar structure and has a mirror finish. This is certainly not a sports watch, with a depth rating of 30 meters. The blue alligator strap comes with a gold tint and comes with a matching gold deployant clasp.

Exotic, space-themed dial

A watch with such a grand design doesn’t rely on a simple dial. Starman takes a multi-layered approach. The bottom tier is made from slices of the Gibeon meteorite. This meteorite is famous for its Widmanstätten pattern, which shows a nickel-iron phase. This layer is dyed blue using a proprietary process to mimic the night sky. The transparent sapphire disk then displays a grid of longitude and latitude lines. The constellations are hand-painted with luminous material. A small circle made from an almost black Jubilet Winselwan meteorite sits at the top of the dial. A well-known feature of this meteorite is the presence of amino acids, the basic building blocks of life. Finally, the flying tourbillon appears at the bottom of the dial. This mechanism is installed in an off-balance cage and rotates.

Camera back capturing the solar system

I also like the case back. Starman depicts the solar system with tiny hand-drawn spheres. These are housed within two layers of sapphire. Interestingly, its position is the same as in the night sky over Neuchâtel on March 21, 2013. This was the night Schaller announced that he had discovered that Louis Monet was the inventor of the chronograph.

Limited items

The Starman Flying Tourbillon is a limited edition. Louis Monet will only produce 12 numbered editions of each case material. Prices are determined upon request, but this watch should provide plenty of viewing and wearing pleasure for those with deep pockets. For more information or to inquire about pricing, please visit Louis Monet’s official website.

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