One Of The Very Few LVKV-02 GMR 6 Watches

Lower than a month in the past, I discovered myself in a White Lotus-esque setting on an island in Thailand. I’ll spare you the main points of the second I stepped on a frog with my naked foot, however the surroundings was unimaginable (it was my first time in Thailand). Nonetheless, I used to be there on a three-day mission! Louis Vuitton was saying its collaboration with watchmaker Kari Voutilainen. The 2 events are producing a restricted run of solely 5 LVKV-02 GMR 6 watches, and so they invited watch media to cowl this particular introduction.

Louis Vuitton and Kari Voutilainen in Thailand

Louis Vuitton additionally invited many purchasers and utilized this gorgeous location to showcase the newest novelties. It was fascinating to view the Louis Vuitton pavilion, the place all of the latest Tambour Taiko Spin Time fashions and different collections had been on show and demonstrated. The model remodeled the complete pavilion into a formidable exhibition venue, permitting friends to discover all the brand new objects and observe artisans at work, showcasing their expertise, akin to guide engraving.

Along with the brand new LVKV-02 GMR 6 watch, we had the chance to preview some upcoming releases underneath embargo. Nevertheless, you’ll have to train a bit extra endurance for these!

The LVKV-02 GMR 6 on the wrist

You may need already learn our introduction article on this new collaboration between Louis Vuitton and Kari Voutilainen, however in case you haven’t, yow will discover it right here. In the present day’s article focuses on its wearability and my view of the watch reasonably than offering a rundown of the specs and options. Did I already say it was brutally scorching in Thailand? Nonetheless, I had a good time attempting the brand new LVKV-02 GMR 6 inside (and out of doors) the Louis Vuitton venue. Jean Arnault and Kari Voutilainen had been additionally there to current and clarify the watch to us.

The hazard of utilizing “soldier photographs” or renders of a watch is that they suck all of the life out of the topic. For instance, there are not any reflections, whereas, in actuality, a watch at all times has reflections. Publish-processed images are very clear however hardly ever present a sensible picture of the watch. Although I used to be on location for this watch’s reveal, I obtained the press supplies earlier than I noticed the look ahead to myself. I used to be impressed by the (hand)work on the dial and the motion of the LVKV-02 GMR 6, however seeing it stay a couple of hours later made an enormous distinction. Not solely do the colours on the dial seem brighter and extra vibrant, however the tantalum case with its platinum parts additionally shines extra in actual life.

On the dial, the Voutilainen and Louis Vuitton logos are merged to underline the collaboration between the 2 watchmaking homes.

Miniature paintwork on the dial

The factor that shocked me essentially the most was how amazingly good the miniature paintwork on the dial and canopy of the mainspring barrel seemed. The day/night time indicator at 6 o’clock was particularly gorgeous to watch up shut.

On my 18cm wrist, this 40.5mm by 12.54mm watch wears completely. As I wrote above, it’s far more colourful in individual than within the press photos. Louis Vuitton’s artisans crammed the hour ring with enamel (miniature) portray, and the middle of the gold dial exhibits Voutilainen’s gorgeous guilloché work.

At 6 o’clock, there’s a sub-dial for a second time zone, that includes a solar in saffron enamel and an evening sky in blue. It takes fairly some time for the artisans to get the colours and results good. At 12 o’clock, there’s an influence reserve indicator on the guilloché dial. The lengthy fingers are completely readable and have the standard Voutilainen design, with blued circles and (gold) arrow pointers.

GMR 6

The crew at Kari Voutilainen’s workshop designed and produced this watch’s hand-wound motion completely in-house. As you possibly can see within the picture, the watchmakers utilized Côtes de Genève and perlage ornament to this caliber. In addition they crafted the motion’s mainplate and bridges out of German silver and the wheels out of gold. Voutilainen’s GMR 6 caliber (with a dual-impulse escapement) ticks at 18,000vph and provides a 65-hour energy reserve. You possibly can admire this motion by means of the sapphire window on the again of the watch. You’ll instantly discover the big steadiness wheel and the multicolored miniature portray on the quilt of the mainspring barrel. As well as, there’s a small plate on the motion indicating that the watch is a restricted version of simply 5 items. Engravers additionally put the phrase “Louis cruises with Kari” on the case again.

The big, winding octagonal crown is straightforward to understand, and winding the motion feels very clean. Whereas the 20mm grey cloth strap might look a bit stiff, fortunately, it’s loads comfy on the wrist. It comes outfitted with a platinum Louis Vuitton-signed pin buckle.

Some afterthoughts

With solely 5 items obtainable (for €550,000 every) and two prototypes for the producers, this LVKV-02 GMR 6 collaboration watch is just for the fortunate ones. Louis Vuitton delivers every watch in a bespoke and painted by hand trunk. However the LVKV-02 GMR 6 is really spectacular on the wrist, and I hope these watches will discover their approach to wrists and never stay of their trunks. Louis Vuitton and Kari Voutilainen utilizing tantalum and platinum for the case was an attention-grabbing selection. As my colleague Dave defined on this article, tantalum is a dense and heavy materials. As seen in a number of the photos above, the tantalum mid-case has a pleasant blue hue and combines properly with the polished platinum parts.

Now that we’ve seen Louis Vuitton collaborations with Akrivia and Kari Voutilainen, I’m wanting ahead to the subsequent! How about you?

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