Introducing Louis Vuitton Collaborates with Kari Voutilainen on the LVKV-02 GMR 6

Louis Vuitton is back with the second chapter in its five-part collaboration series with independent master watchmakers. Jean Arnault, the brand’s watch director, took Instagram to tease the latest project, and now it’s here, the LVKV-02 GMR 6, created in partnership with Kari Voutilainen. Following the LVRR-01 Chronographe à Sonnerie with Rexhep Rexhepi, this new timepiece is a stunning blend of traditional craftsmanship and artistic excellence, featuring a tantalum and platinum case, a meticulously hand-finished dial, and an exquisite movement crafted by Voutilainen himself.

The watch is housed in a 40.5mm case with a thickness of 12.54mm, utilizing tantalum for the central case and 950 platinum for the bezel, caseback, lugs, and crown. The case is composed of 52 hand-finished components, ensuring an exceptional level of refinement. Each lug requires approximately an hour of polishing, while the satin finishing on the tantalum case sides takes nearly four hours to perfect. With sapphire crystals on both sides and a caseback engraving that reads "Louis cruises with Kari," the watch embodies the collaborative spirit of this project. Water resistance is rated at 30 meters.

The dial integrates multiple artisanal techniques. At its center is a hand-guilloché gold base, crafted using machinery from the 18th century. Surrounding it, a diamond-polished hour ring features a miniature painting by Maryna Bossy, an artisan from La Fabrique des Arts Louis Vuitton. This intricate work involves 28 colors, 32 hours of painting, and eight hours of firing.

The GMT display at 6 o'clock incorporates a small seconds counter with a manually engraved and enameled day/night indicator, featuring a saffron and blue sun and moon motif that subtly integrates Louis Vuitton's monogram flower, while a retrograde power reserve sits at 12 o’clock. The blued-steel and white gold hands further enhance the dial’s visual harmony.

Powering the watch is the hand-wound Calibre GMR 6, finished and assembled in Kari Voutilainen’s Saint-Sulpice workshop. The movement consists of 254 components and operates at a frequency of 18,000 vph (2.5Hz). The German silver plate and bridges, along with gold wheels, showcase Voutilainen’s hallmark finishing techniques. A single barrel provides a power reserve of 65 hours, with a white gold barrel cover adorned with a multicolored miniature painting.

The watch comes with a grey fabric strap with an anthracite alligator strap, both secured with a platinum pin buckle. Each of the five timepieces is presented in a high-watchmaking Louis Vuitton trunk, crafted in Monogram Eclipse canvas and hand-painted with a watch design. Priced at EUR 550,000, approximately AED 2,190,800.

For more information, you can visit Louis Vuitton’s and Kari Voutilainen’s official websites.