Welcome to our series highlighting the exceptional watches that are available through PERPETUAL, Phillips’ boutique service offering immediate access to the world’s rarest and most desirable timepieces. You can view all currently available watches by visiting our London headquarters at 30 Berkeley Square, or by visiting Phillips PERPETUAL online.
– By Logan Baker
Kari Voutilainen, 61, is an elder statesman of today's independent watchmaking circuit. He owns a dialmaker (Comblémine), a casemaker (Cattin), and is leading a revival at Urban Jürgensen, the cult-favorite brand he acquired with a group of investors in November 2021. And none of those roles include what has earned him the most acclaim in his career, underlined by his nine awards (and counting) from the Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG), which is creating unique timepieces under his own name.
It’s clear that Voutilainen is no longer just a watchmaker. He’s building a legitimate horological empire from his headquarters in Môtiers, Switzerland.
Voutilainen, however, didn't always have as comprehensive and holistic of an approach to watchmaking as he does today.
When Voutilainen launched his business in 2002, at the age of 40 and following a productive nine-year stint at Parmigiani Fleurier, he focused his attention exclusively on creating highly complicated wristwatches in one-off configurations for clients. The most well-known and desirable type of watch produced by Voutilianen in this early era was his now-trademark decimal repeater, which chimes the hours followed by 10-minute intervals (instead of quarter-hours), and finally, the remaining minutes. (A time of 10:53, for example, would first strike 10 times at a low register for the hours, followed by five chimes in sequence representing each 10-minute interval that's passed within the hour, and then three one-minute chimes in a higher tone.)
Although it may be hard to believe, Voutilainen was in fact the very first watchmaker to create a decimal repeating complication (at least in the form of a wristwatch). And since its initial debut in 2004 as the Masterpiece 6, Voutilainen's decimal repeater production has always remained extremely limited.
It's believed that, to this day, the total amount of Voutilainen decimal repeaters out in the world remains in the low two digits.
Voutilainen's decimal repeaters were initially produced under the "Masterpiece" naming convention, which comprised entirely of one-of-a-kind minute-repeating wristwatches. It's true – Voutilainen has never produced his decimal repeater in series. Every single known watch is unique in some fashion, including the 2012 example (ref. B.12.1038) that we recently received at Phillips PERPETUAL's London headquarters.
Cased it 18k white gold, the watch combines Voutilainen's decimal repeating complication with a second time-zone display via a large sub-dial with an engraved day/night disc made of 18k rose and white gold that's placed between two and three o’clock on the dial.
Simply press down the three o'clock crown, and the blued second time-zone hand will jump forward in one-hour increments.
The dial itself is an expansive 18k gold disc that's been silvered then decorated with a series of guilloché patterns using a traditional hand-operated rose engine. The Roman numerals are cut by hand, given a dark vertical brushing, and then individually applied to the dial. Voutilainen's classic Observatory-style handset is present and as complicated as ever, comprising multiple components and materials fastened together, including polished 18k white gold and heat-blued steel.
What makes this specific unique example even more special, however, is its caseback.
Although Voutilainen is best known for his watchmaking ability and craftsmanship, he has an eye for the artistic side of watchmaking as well. Four of his nine total GPHG wins have come in the Artistic Crafts category, double the next most common winner (Van Cleef & Arpels).
The caseback on this watch is hand-engraved by master engraver Eddy Jaquet (a frequent Voutilainen partner that is perhaps best known for his award-winning work with MB&F) with a scene taken straight from Greek mythology, illustrating the Pleiades, the seven heavenly sister-nymphs that were daughters of Atlas, the Titan, and the companions of Artemis. The sisters are in the nude and are each set in different positions around the caseback, all engraved out of 18k white gold, matching the case metal. The background of the caseback nicely frames the scene with a layer of beautiful blue enamel.
Interestingly, this isn't the first Voutilainen Decimal Repeater GMT to feature the seven Pleiades sisters on a caseback. This watch, produced in 2012, carries over the complicated and thematic elements first featured in Voutilainen's original Masterpiece 7 wristwatch from 2006. Despite the core similarities, the Masterpiece 7 and the present unique piece from 2012 couldn't be further apart in execution.
Both cases are made of 18k white gold and feature Voutilainen's characteristic teardrop lugs, but the present watch has a large-for-a-Voutilainen 42mm diameter, while the Masterpiece 7 has a 39.5mm case. The Pleiades caseback engraving on the watches were both completed by Eddy Jaquet (as was the engraved gold dual-time register on both dials), but the later version is much more detailed, with an improved sense of three-dimensionality as well as the addition of the enamel backdrop, bringing a welcome bit of color to the presentation.
The movements inside each of the hunter-style casebacks, despite featuring the same complications and overall functionality, actually come from two different sources. The movement in the Masterpiece 7 began its life as a vintage LeCoultre ébauche caliber, while the present unique piece's movement started as a vintage Louis-Elysee Piguet caliber.
Most of Voutilainen's decimal repeating watches over the years have relied on LeCoultre ébauches, but the Piguet caliber has made a few strong appearances, including inside a remarkable unique piece with a regulator dial that was commisioned by The Hour Glass, the prominent Singapore retailer. The use of two different movements for the Decimal Repeater GMT models results in a few other small aesthetic updates, most obviously with the off-center placement of the second time-zone display on the Piguet ébauche watches.
Of course, Voutilainen doesn't just clean up these vintage movements, drop them in a precious-metal case, and call it a day – no way. Just spring open the watch's hinged caseback and you'll find that the movement's maillechort bridges and plates have been comprehensively decorated to the degree you'd expect out of a current Voutilainen creation. Geneva stripes, circular graining, anglage, polished jewel sinks – it's all here.
Voutilainen effectively rebuilds each of these ébauche movements, adding in new components and materials wherever he sees fit.
To build a decimal-repeating wristwatch using one of the vintage ébauches, Voutilainen had to rework and replace the existing striking mechanism for the quarters and minutes. He also had to find a way to incorporate the GMT complication, and its setting mechanism, inside the existing architecture without adding too much extra width or girth to the original construction.
Voutilainen also brings in a fresh balance wheel and escapement on each of his decimal repeaters – on the present 2012 Decimal Repeater GMT, the balance wheel is free-sprung and set with adjustable gold weights on its rim.
Oh, and if you notice wolf's teeth on a few of the visible wheels and gears, those are a new Voutilainen addition, too.
Kari Voutilainen is busier than ever these days as he goes about building his horological empire brick by brick.
But a watch like the present Decimal Repeater GMT reminds us of just where and how Voutilainen began his career. Before Comblémine and Cattin, before he acquired Urban Jürgensen and began releasing in-house movements, Voutilainen's decimal repeaters were a pure showcase of his personal horological interests, his technical ingenuity, and his creativity.
The Voutilainen Decimal Repeater GMT Pleiades Unique Piece ref. B.12.1038 dates to 2012 and comes with its original box, warranty, and 18k white gold pin buckle. It's available now for immediate purchase from Phillips PERPETUAL, for £360,000.
About Phillips PERPETUAL
Phillips PERPETUAL offers a boutique experience to clients for both the sale and purchase of fine and rare watches, in London’s Berkeley Square and the Gstaad Palace, in Switzerland.
About Logan Baker
Logan has spent the past decade reporting on every aspect of the watch business. He joined Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo at the start of 2023 as the department's Senior Editorial Manager. He splits his time between New York and Geneva.
Visit Phillips PERPETUAL /
30 Berkeley Square, London, United Kingdom, W1J 6EX (map)
Monday through Friday, 10:00 AM – 17:30 PM
Contact & Consignment Enquiries /
00 44 207 901 7916
perpetual@phillips.com
@phillipsperpetual
Discover More from Phillips PERPETUAL >
Recommended Reading
Independent Watchmakers: The Bridge Between Vintage And Modern Collectibles