PARIS — For its second collaboration with impartial watchmakers, Louis Vuitton has unveiled Thursday a travel-inspired timepiece with Finnish-born, Switzerland-based Kari Voutilainen.
“Kari Voutilainen stands as one of the prolific watchmakers of his period, and notably one of many pioneers of impartial watchmaking,” mentioned Jean Arnault, Louis Vuitton’s director of watches. “It’s my hope that this timepiece will probably be acknowledged as a celebration of impartial watchmaking that may make it potential to assist the motion within the years to return.”
The LVKV-02 GMR 6 watch.
Courtesy of Louis Vuitton
Dubbed the LVKV-02 GMR 6, the watch is accessible in a restricted run of 5 items, priced at 550,000 euros every. It’s a part of a five-year run of collaborations between the French model and impartial watchmaking labels.
As with the mannequin cosigned with Atelier Akrivia, proceeds of this watch’s sale are earmarked to fund the biennial Louis Vuitton Watch Prize for Unbiased Creatives launched in 2023 and now on its second version.
Educated on the famend Kelloseppakoulu watchmaking college in Finland, the grasp watchmaker moved to Switzerland in 1989, the place he accomplished the WOSTEP difficult watch course on the Worldwide Watchmaking College.
Noticed by Parmigiani Mesure et Artwork du Temps, he spent nearly a decade restoring uncommon items and creating one-offs designs earlier than a three-year stint educating on the WOSTEP College of Watchmaking.
In 2002, Voutilainen opened his eponymous workshop in Saint-Sulpice, Switzerland, the identical 12 months Louis Vuitton launched its inaugural Tambour watch.
Over time his work has since garnered various awards, together with 11 gongs on the Grand Prix de l’Horlogerie de Genève, thought-about the Oscars of the watchmaking world.
Kari Voutilainen
Courtesy of Louis Vuitton
Voutilainen additionally serves as a member of the skilled committee of the prize.
Calling the endeavor “a real collaboration that’s remarkably coherent for each homes,” the grasp watchmaker mentioned the timepiece “embodies the identification of Louis Vuitton whereas additionally capturing the spirit of our workshop.”
Based mostly on Louis Vuitton’s redesigned Escale launched in 2024, it includes a case product of tantalum, a metallic that’s advanced to make the most of on account of traits that embrace gold-like density and a excessive melting level, whereas the bezel, again, lugs, crown and strap buckle are product of platinum.
Epitomizing the collaboration between the 2 watchmakers is the dial, which options the portemanteau “LVoutilainen” moniker mixing their names.
The motion seen from the again.
Courtesy of Louis Vuitton
Beneath gold Roman numerals is a putting multicolored hour circle that was hand-decorated by Maryna Bossy, a talented artisan within the Métiers d’Artwork workshop of La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton. It required 28 totally different colours, 32 hours of portray and a complete of eight hours of firing.
Additionally taking pleasure of place on the middle of the dial is the hand guilloché engraving by Voutilainen’s workshop, in an intricate sample nodding to the French home’s Damier motif. They’re additionally behind the solar and moon used on the day-and-night indicator, delicately engraved after which enameled, the place stars grow to be minute Monogram flowers.
The case again is engraved with “Louis cruises with Kari” whereas its sapphire offers a peek of the watch’s handbook self-winding motion based mostly on Voutilainen’s GMR 6 caliber. In a nod to Vuitton’s journey heritage, it’s a GMT complication with a day-night indicator and an influence reserve indicator. The second timezone is indicated at 6 o’clock.
The trunk for the LVKV-02 GMR 6 timepiece.
Courtesy of Louis Vuitton
A significant function of this motion is its revolutionary development with two escapement wheels, which improves effectivity and provides it elevated longevity, stability and an extended energy reserve. It additionally has a novel balance-spring system, pairing a typical Philipps overcoil with the little-known Grossmann curve.
Every watch is available in a bespoke Louis Vuitton journey trunk, bearing a hand-painted rendition of the dial and version quantity on the entrance in addition to the signatures of Voutilainen and Arnault inside.
