Manufacturer: Voutilainen Year: 2012 Movement No: 28-032 Case No: 280032 Model Name: Vingt-8 Material: Platinum Calibre: Manual, cal. 13"', 25 jewels Bracelet/Strap: Leather Clasp/Buckle: Platinum pin buckle Dimensions: 39mm Diameter Signed: Case, dial, movement and buckle signed Accessories: Accompanied by Voutilainen fitted box, outer packaging, guarantee, instruction manual and second silver dial Literature: Kari Voutilainen and his works are featured in Kari Voutilainen Horlogerie d'Art by Theodore Diehl as well as in Watchmakers, The Masters of Art Horology by Maxima Gallery pp 228-247 and in Twelve faces of Time, Horological Virtuosos by Elisabeth Doerr and Ralf Baumgarten pp. 90-105
Catalogue Essay
Is it really necessary to present Kari Voutilainen ? One of the most talented living watchmakers, he has not only garnered a cult following amongst collectors of independent watchmaking but is also becoming a respected name amongst watch collectors in general.
His movements, cases and sublime guilloché dials are all made inhouse, his signature being complex mechanisms with superlative handmade finishing. Every component in his watches, from the bridges to the tiniest of screws, involves manual labor, may it be adjusted tolerances, polishing, angling and so on.
After spending a decade restoring the finest horological creations of the past three centuries Kari Voutilainen became a rising star in the watchmaking scene in the early 2000s with his unique decimal minute repeaters that chimed every ten minutes and no longer the quarter hours contrary to all repeating wristwatches available at the time. These watches were soon followed by his Observatory models with a movement finish often compared to that of the great Philippe Dufour.
With the launch of the Vingt-8 line, which the present piece belongs to, Kari Voutilainen entered the exclusive club of artisans having fully developed an in-house movement. This apparently simple movement features a complex direct impulse escapement enabling a more constant distribution of energy. Furthermore, the extra-large balance allows fine regulation of the watch using a rare balance spring system with the exterior of the spring using a Breguet overcoil, while the internal curve uses the little known Grossmann curve.
The movement can be unabashedly described as a work of art for which every shape has been carefully thought out and executed, and every individual component has been painstakingly hand finished in Voutilainen’s ateliers in Môtiers, Switzerland.
The present watch watch features a beautiful and unique black and blue guilloché dial with applied Persian numerals (the number 4 is different to the Arabic/Hindu numerals), but also comes with a more traditional silver guilloché dial with stylized Arabic numerals.
The masculine 39mm platinum case sports Voutilainen’s signature tear drop lugs.
An incredibly gorgeous watch regardless of the dial the wearer chooses to wear, the present Vingt-8 is a must have in the collection of the collector of fine timepieces.