Swiss watch brand
Louis Moinet: history, models and value
Louis Moinet is a small independent brand in Saint-Blaise, founded in 2004 and named after a 19th-century watchmaker credited with making the first known chronograph. It is known for meteorite dials and unusual complications.
- Founded
- 2004
- Founder(s)
- Jean-Marie Schaller
- Headquarters
- Saint-Blaise
- Owner / group
- Independent
Louis Moinet: origins and founding
Ateliers Louis Moinet was founded in 2004 in Saint-Blaise, near Neuchâtel, as a fully independent company. It is a modern brand: it did not exist in the 19th century, but takes its name and inspiration from the French watchmaker Louis Moinet.
Founders and family
The historical Louis Moinet (1768–1853) was born in Bourges, France, and worked in Paris. He was an artist, writer, astronomer and watchmaker, a friend of Abraham-Louis Breguet, and the author of a treatise on watchmaking, the Traité d'Horlogerie. In 1806 he made a clock for Napoleon Bonaparte.
The modern brand was founded by Jean-Marie Schaller, who led it as CEO and collected meteorites and other cosmic materials for more than 20 years. He died in May 2026, aged 66.
Louis Moinet history and milestones
- 1816: Louis Moinet completes his compteur de tierces, a timing instrument beating at 216,000 vibrations per hour and measuring to 1/60th of a second.
- 2004: founding of the modern brand in Saint-Blaise.
- 2012: Schaller buys the compteur de tierces at auction in Geneva. Guinness World Records later certifies it as the world's first chronograph, about five years before the date usually given for the chronograph's invention.
- 2015–2016: the Memoris chronograph and a limited Memoris edition for the 200th anniversary of the 1816 chronograph.
- 2026: death of the founder Jean-Marie Schaller.
Famous Louis Moinet models
- Memoris: chronographs that refer to the 1816 invention.
- Cosmopolis: a watch with inserts from 12 different meteorites.
- Metropolis, Mobilis, Skydance and Vertalor: other limited pieces from the 2010s, often with unusual complications or tourbillons.
- Meteorite and fossil dials: many pieces use rare natural materials, which makes them very individual.
Louis Moinet today
The company remains independent and based in Saint-Blaise. It works in the haute horlogerie segment with very small, often numbered series, built around storytelling and rare materials.
Louis Moinet prices on the pre-owned market
Louis Moinet watches appear only occasionally on the pre-owned market. Because the brand is small and its designs are unusual, finding a buyer can take time, and prices can sit well below the original retail price. Pieces with rare meteorite or fossil inserts, unique pieces and complete sets with box, certificate and edition number are the most interesting to collectors.
How to recognise a genuine Louis Moinet
Check that the edition number on the case matches the certificate, and that dial materials such as meteorite look natural and irregular rather than printed. Because series are small, the company is the best place to confirm a piece. Our guide on how to spot a fake watch explains general checks.
What is your Louis Moinet worth?
Photograph the dial, case, caseback and certificate and use our free watch value estimate for a first idea. For an estate or insurance, a written watch appraisal gives you a signed document.
Frequently asked questions
Did Louis Moinet invent the chronograph?
Louis Moinet completed his compteur de tierces in 1816, and Guinness World Records has certified it as the world's first chronograph. It predates the chronograph usually credited as the first by about five years.
Is Louis Moinet an old watch brand?
No. The brand was founded in 2004 in Saint-Blaise by Jean-Marie Schaller. It is named after the 19th-century watchmaker Louis Moinet.
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