There’s Tantalum In The Louis Vuitton and Voutilainen Watch Collaboration

PARIS — For its second collaboration with independent watchmakers, Louis Vuitton has unveiled Thursday a travel-inspired timepiece with Finnish-born, Switzerland-based Kari Voutilainen.

“Kari Voutilainen stands as one of the most prolific watchmakers of his era, and notably one of the pioneers of independent watchmaking,” said Jean Arnault, Louis Vuitton’s director of watches. “It is my hope that this timepiece will be recognized as a celebration of independent watchmaking that will make it possible to support the movement in the years to come.”

Dubbed the LVKV-02 GMR 6, the watch is available in a limited run of five pieces, priced at 550,000 euros each. It is part of a five-year run of collaborations between the French brand and independent watchmaking labels.

As with the model cosigned with Atelier Akrivia, proceeds of this watch’s sale are earmarked to fund the biennial Louis Vuitton Watch Prize for Independent Creatives launched in 2023 and now on its second edition.

Trained at the renowned Kelloseppakoulu watchmaking school in Finland, the master watchmaker moved to Switzerland in 1989, where he completed the WOSTEP complicated watch course at the International Watchmaking School.

Spotted by Parmigiani Mesure et Art du Temps, he spent almost a decade restoring rare pieces and creating one-offs designs before a three-year stint teaching at the WOSTEP School of Watchmaking.

In 2002, Voutilainen opened his eponymous workshop in Saint-Sulpice, Switzerland, the same year Louis Vuitton launched its inaugural Tambour watch.

Over the years his work has since garnered a number of awards, including 11 gongs at the Grand Prix de l’Horlogerie de Genève, considered the Oscars of the watchmaking world.

Voutilainen also serves as a member of the expert committee of the prize.

Calling the endeavor “a genuine collaboration that is remarkably coherent for both houses,” the master watchmaker said the timepiece “embodies the identity of Louis Vuitton while also capturing the spirit of our workshop.”

Based on Louis Vuitton’s redesigned Escale launched in 2024, it features a case made of tantalum, a metal that is complex to utilize due to characteristics that include gold-like density and a high melting point, while the bezel, back, lugs, crown and strap buckle are made of platinum.

Epitomizing the collaboration between the two watchmakers is the dial, which features the portemanteau “LVoutilainen” moniker blending their names.

Under gold Roman numerals is a striking multicolored hour circle that was hand-decorated by Maryna Bossy, a skilled artisan in the Métiers d’Art workshop of La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton. It required 28 different colors, 32 hours of painting and a total of eight hours of firing.

Also taking pride of place on the center of the dial is the hand guilloché engraving by Voutilainen’s workshop, in an intricate pattern nodding to the French house’s Damier motif. They’re also behind the sun and moon used on the day-and-night indicator, delicately engraved and then enameled, where stars turn out to be minute Monogram flowers.

The case back is engraved with “Louis cruises with Kari” while its sapphire gives a peek of the watch’s manual self-winding movement based on Voutilainen’s GMR 6 caliber. In a nod to Vuitton’s travel heritage, it is a GMT complication with a day-night indicator and a power reserve indicator. The second timezone is indicated at 6 o’clock.

A major feature of this movement is its innovative construction with two escapement wheels, which improves efficiency and gives it increased longevity, stability and a longer power reserve. It also has a unique balance-spring system, pairing a typical Philipps overcoil with the little-known Grossmann curve.

Each watch comes in a bespoke Louis Vuitton travel trunk, bearing a hand-painted rendition of the dial and edition number on the front as well as the signatures of Voutilainen and Arnault inside.