Louis Vuitton introduces its first time-only skeleton movement , LV60 , and places it into a proprietary , modified cushion-shaped Voyager case to create the Voyager Skeleton , a platinum-cased work of eye-catching horological architecture .
GEOMETRIC VOYAGER
Louis Vuitton introduces its first time-only skeleton movement , LV60 , and places it into a proprietary , modified cushion-shaped Voyager case to create the Voyager Skeleton , a platinum-cased work of eye-catching horological architecture .
SPECIFICATIONS :
LOUIS VUITTON VOYAGER SKELETON
CASE : 41mm by 43.7mm by 9mm platinum with satin-finished sides and a polished top , sapphire glass , blue snailed minute ring . 50-meters of water resistance , ‘ Limited edition ’ engraved case-back , with sapphire glass .
MOVEMENT : Self-winding mechanical skeleton manufacture movement , Caliber LV60 , designed & developed by La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton . Tungsten micro-rotor decorated with a white gold , rhodium-plated plate . Frequency 28,800 vph with 48-hour power reserve .
BRACELET : Two straps : navy blue , alligator leather strap and calf leather strap with platinum buckle .
PRICE : $ 55,000 .
NO STRANGER TO OPEN-WORKED MOVEMENTS ( see , for example , its Tambour Curve Flying Tourbillon Poinçon de Genève or the Voyager Flying Tourbillon Poinçon de Genève ), Louis Vuitton uses this new model to explore a horologically less complex Voyager . This approach allows the watchmakers at La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton ( in collaboration with Neuchâtel-based workshop Le Cercle des Horlogers ) to focus on the Voyager ’ s architectural case and dynamic bridgework .
In fact , Louis Vuitton explains that its designers were inspired by the architecture of the Frank Gehry-designed Foundation Louis Vuitton in Paris when creating the skeletal Voyager .
Like the Foundation building , the Voyager ’ s movement offers a minimalist approach to its structure . The Voyager ’ s watchmakers have carefully trimmed excess bridges and plates , constructing only the minimum required for the movement ’ s internal integrity .
Fortunately , this approach was taken with a keen sense of design , so that , for example , the watch ’ s LV-shaped bridges are actually geometric lines . Even the rotor is designed with flair — its bridge features a Louis Vuitton monogram while the barrel ratchet wheel is open-worked to spell the brand name itself .
The watch ’ s almost monochrome hue is created by the rhodium-plated components , which Louis Vuitton frames with by blue minutes ring . Matching blue hands add legibility . An off-center micro-rotor , which winds the mainspring bidirectionally , offers a clear view of the movement from either side of the watch .
In another ode to transparency , Louis Vuitton has opened the mainspring barrel so that it can serve as a power reserve indicator . A tightly-coiled mainspring indicates full wind while loosely-arranged coils remind the wearer to wind the watch .
The Louis Vuitton Voyager Skeleton is available as a limited edition of 150 pieces .
FALL 2023 | INTERNATIONAL WRISTWATCH | 91