Louis Vuitton And Kari Voutilainen Collaborate — Meet The LVKV-02 GMR 6
After joining forces with Rexhep Rexhepi in 2023, Louis Vuitton has once again teamed up with an independent watchmaker to produce a special collaborative timepiece. This time, the brand has partnered with Kari Voutilainen to create the LVKV-02 GMR 6, a travel watch based on the revamped Escale design from 2024. This model will have a limited run of only five pieces, and each will come in a bespoke Louis Vuitton trunk. But first things first, let’s take a look at the watch.
The LVKV-02 GMR 6 watch
In case you were wondering about the name, “GMR 6” refers to the watch’s dual-time function. To be even more specific, “R” stands for the power reserve indicator, and “6” refers to the location of the home-time sub-dial.
Voutilainen’s workshop
Kari Voutilainen’s workshop is in Saint-Sulpice, Switzerland, and Louis Vuitton’s watchmaking takes place at La Fabrique du Temps in Geneva. The new LVKV-02 GMR 6 is a product of both workshops and their highly skilled craftspeople.
Tantalum and platinum
For the case of the LVKV-02 GMR 6, Louis Vuitton used a mixture of tantalum and platinum elements. The mid-case is made of pure tantalum, but the bezel, back, lugs, and crown are made of platinum. The strap also has a platinum buckle. The Escale case measures 40.5mm in diameter and 12.54mm thick. According to Louis Vuitton, using the Escale case was logical as the first watch in the line, the 2014 Escale Worldtime, was a watch for travelers, just like this one.
Finished by hand
The craftspeople at Louis Vuitton are responsible for the manual polishing and satin finishing of the LVKV-02 GMR 6 case. For example, it takes about an hour to work on each lug and approximately four hours to apply a satin finish to the tantalum case sides.
The handwork involved in this watch continues on the case back, with a “Louis cruises with Kari” engraving. The engraving represents the creativity and drive for excellence of Louis Vuitton and Kari Voutilainen.
A special dial
On the dial of the LVKV-02 GMR 6, you will find a mix of different (traditional) trades blending very well. First, the folks at Voutilainen’s atelier decorate the center of the gold dial with traditional guilloché. For this, they used antique machinery from the 18th century.
Then, there’s the diamond-polished hour circle hand-painted by Maryna Bossy, one of the artisans at La Fabrique des Arts, the Métiers d’Art workshop at La Fabrique du Temps. Bossy used 28 colors for this miniature painting, and it took her 32 hours to complete. Additionally, it required eight hours of firing.
The Voutilainen workshop also took care of the day/night indicator. First, the artisans had to manually engrave the day/night disc and then decorate the sun and moon with enamel. The chosen colors for this are saffron and blue. If you look very closely, you will discover the concealed shapes of Louis Vuitton’s monogram flower.
Last but not least, you will see that the logo on the dial combines the Louis Vuitton logo with the Voutilainen name.
GMR 6 caliber
Inside this LVKV-02 GMR 6 is a manual-winding Kari Voutilainen GMR 6 movement manufactured and finished in the Voutilainen atelier. It uses two escapement wheels that provide a direct impulse to the balance through the jewels. Compared to the Swiss lever escapement, this requires less energy and provides more power reserve. What sets this movement apart when it comes to decoration is the multicolored miniature painting on the cover of the mainspring barrel, which the previously mentioned Maryna Bossy applied by hand. The ratchet applique is made of white gold, and 27 colors have been used to paint it. Five kiln sessions and eight hours of firing were needed to achieve the final result as shown in the picture.
Furthermore, the main plate and bridges of the movement are made from German silver. The GMR 6 movement consists of 254 components, including 32 jewels. Noteworthy is the use of the large balance wheel, which Voutilainen crafted in-house. The exterior of the spring has a Phillips terminal curve, while the interior uses the less widely known Grossmann curve for better accuracy. This slow-ticking movement (18,000vph) offers 65 hours of power reserve, as shown through the indicator at 12 on the dial.
Straps and trunk
The LVKV-02 GMR 6 watch will come with two straps. One is a gray fabric strap with a brown leather lining, and the other is an anthracite alligator leather strap with black leather lining. As mentioned at the beginning of this article, the watch also includes a platinum pin buckle.
Of course, there’s the bespoke Louis Vuitton trunk for each of these LVKV-02 GMR 6 watches, crafted in Louis Vuitton’s workshops in Asnières. A team of artisans hand-paints the trunks with a design matching the dial of the watch. Each trunk also includes the “Louis cruises with Kari” signature and carries the corresponding number of one of the five LVKV-02 GMR 6 watches.
The price of the LVKV-02 GMR 6 is €550,000. More details will be available on the official Louis Vuitton and Voutilainen websites soon.
