Louis Moinet Savanna Tourbillon Tiger: It’s a Puzzle – It’s Literally a Puzzle

Credits: Article and images by Ian Skellern @ Quill & Pad. See the original article here - https://quillandpad.com/2023/10/14/louis-moinet-savanna-tourbillon-tiger-its-a-puzzle-its-literally-a-puzzle/

What makes high-end watches so desirable is the artistry involved. For some watches, it is artistry in their complexity, or their superlative hand finishing, or intricate dials, and some feature actual artwork like miniature painting.

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Louis Moinet Savanna Tourbillon Tiger

Then there are a very few timepieces that offer all of that artistry and more: one such timepiece is the unique piece Louis Moinet Savanna Tourbillon Tiger.

A beautifully finished in-house tourbillon with an impressive 96-hour power reserve in a nicely proportioned 42mm red gold case and featuring an incredibly intricate hand-painted tiger is already enough to set the Louis Moinet Savanna Tourbillon Tiger apart; however, what really makes it special is that the dial is a real jigsaw puzzle made up of 81 separate pieces.

Jigsaw puzzle pieces of the Louis Moinet Savanna Tourbillon Tiger dial before miniature painting

And as if the miniature painting wasn’t enough, to highlight the fact that the pieces of the puzzle are all individual rather than simply painted outlines, the pieces are assembled on four levels, which means that it’s not only the dial surface that is painted, but also all of the visible sizes of the jigsaw puzzle pieces.

Painting the dial of the Louis Moinet Savanna Tourbillon Tiger

The puzzle is first assembled flat for the artist to paint the very detailed head of the tiger, then disassembled for the painting of the edges of the edges of each piece, and then reassembled over four layers.

Jigsaw puzzle pieces of the dial of the Louis Moinet Savanna Tourbillon Tiger

If you look carefully you can see the 4 levels of the puzzle pieces of the Louis Moinet Savanna Tourbillon Tiger

The micro painting of the tiger’s head highlights the animal’s shimmering coat and intense gaze, drawing the viewer’s gaze deep into the dial.

“Each Savanna Tourbillon has been conceived as a canvas for virtuosic artists and thus expresses the perfect merger of métiers d’art with haute horlogerie.” explains Jean-Marie Schaller, Louis Moinet CEO and Creative Director.

Louis Moinet Savanna Tourbillon Elephant and Leopard

Previous unique piece Savanna Tourbillons have featured an elephant, a leopard, and a lion.

The 96-hour power reserve is powered by twin mainspring barrels, and the tourbillon visible at 6 o’clock on the dial is particularly eye-catching as the balance wheel is eccentric to the tourbillon cage so it also offers full visibility to the escape wheel.

Louis Moinet Savanna Tourbillon Tiger

Unsurprisingly (and deservedly), the Louis Moinet Savanna Tourbillon Tiger has been selected as a finalist in the Artistic Crafts category of the 2023 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG), the winner of which will be announced at the awards ceremony on Thursday the 9^th of November, 2023

For more information, please visit www.louismoinet.com/watches/savanna-tourbillon-lm-135-50-ti/

Quick facts Louis Moinet Savanna Tourbillon Tiger
Indications: hours and minutes
Dial: 81-piece micro-painted jigsaw puzzle of a tiger
Caliber: manufacture Caliber LM135, 60-second tourbillon, manual winding, frequency 4Hz
Power reserve: 96 hours
Case: 18K red gold
Dimensions: 40.7mm diameter x 15.1mm high
Water resistance: 30 meters
Strap: alligator with folding clasp
Limitation: unique piece
Price: 140,000- Swiss francs