2018 basel review
LOUIS MOINET
SKYLINK
Louis Moinet debuts its second creation commemorating the
1975 Apollo-Soyuz adventure – the first joint space mission
between the Soviet Union and the United States of America. The
independent watchmaker has created a dial reminiscent of a
nebula. Over it are two of Louis Moinet’s hallmark dewdrop
hands. The seconds are marked off on their unusually metalized
counter at 9 o’clock. At 3 o’clock sits a microcapsule containing
a fragment of Kapton foil – the polyamide fabric that protected
Apollo on its return to Earth on July 24, 1975 – together with
fibers from the Russian Sokol-K spacesuit. The watch is made as
a limited edition of nineteen white gold, nineteen rose gold and
seventy-five steel watches on a dark blue or black strap. The
numbers are a tribute to 1975 – the year of the Apollo-Soyuz
mission. The dial of each piece bears an authentic reproduction
of Alexey Leonov’s signature. Prices: Approximately $16,800.
MB&F
HM7 AQUAPOD
When MB&F introduced its HM7 Aquapod at last year’s SIHH, the
mechanical jellyfish for the wrist quickly became one of the show’s most-
discussed timepieces. The 53.5mm x 20mm watch with centrally
mounted flying tourbillon, especially the lighter, titanium-cased version,
turned out to be surprisingly comfortable on wrist despite its large size.
The HM7’s organic shape and extra-bright blue luminescence effectively
mimicked its muse, the jellyfish, many of which also glow in the dark.
After that initial debut of two editions, one with a red gold case and a
black bezel and a titanium version with its blue bezel, MB&F at Baselworld
added a second titanium edition, this time displaying a green bezel and
green luminescence and available in a limited edition of fifty pieces.
You’ll recall that the HM7 Aquapod features a vertically arranged
movement with, from bottom to top, the winding rotor, mainspring barrel,
hour and minute indications, and flying 60-second tourbillon, all
concentrically mounted around the central axis. Hours and minutes are
displayed by two spherical segment discs in aluminum and titanium, which
are supported by specially developed oversized ceramic ball bearings.
As MB&F explains, energy travels from the titanium/platinum rotor at the
very bottom of the movement to the flying tourbillon regulator at the
very top via gearing acting like a series of stairs, allowing power to
transition from one level to the next.
MB&F makes all this energy transfer quite visible. The now green high-
powered AGT (Ambient Glow Technology) Ultra lume (the first two HM7
editions glow with blue luminescence) brightens the delightfully slow-
beat flying tourbillon. Green SuperLuminova markers and numerals make
reading the time on the Aquapod quite easy in the dark. (MB&F explains
that the hour and minute numerals and markers are hand-painted
because it is impossible to print neatly on components with such
biomorphic curves.) You’ll need 108,000 green U.S. dollars to pick up
one of the fifty newly green MB&F HM7 Aquapods.
94 | INTERNATIONAL WATCH | SUMMER 2018