A watch with a tourbillon, minute repeater, and a series of animations as a designer sketch about the Land of the Rising Sun.
Louis Vuitton has released a new model in its series of pocket watches, where the dial features sketches of travels around the world. If the first model in this series depicted Paris and its famous bridges over the Seine, and the second was adorned with the Amazon jungle, the new release takes us to Japan.
As with previous models in this cycle, the highlight of the watch is the moving elements in the design. The animation begins with a compass rose at the top of the dial, stylized as the Louis Vuitton floral monogram.
The main element of the composition is a fishing boat loaded with the brand's famous suitcases. It moves smoothly from side to side. In addition to the suitcases, the boat features a meditating Japanese man holding a fishing rod and fish. This is none other than Ebisu, the patron of fishermen and merchants and the god of luck in Japanese cultural tradition.
Every detail of the Japanese deity's appearance is rendered with particular care: the mustache, nose, facial expression, and clothing folds, not to mention the fish and fishing rod under the arm and even the fishing net (symbols of wealth and prosperity) hanging over the side of the boat.
Another moving element on the dial is the gold branches of sakura with delicate pink flowers. The flowers are stylized as the Louis Vuitton monogram. The delicate color palette of Japanese cherry blossoms is conveyed by red and pink enamel.
In the background of the composition, the misty outlines of Mount Fuji emerge. The dial's finish employs several enamel techniques: Grand Feu enamel, champlevé enamel, paillonné technique (thin gold fragments "sealed" between enamel layers), and miniature painting. A chain of 60 colored baguette-cut sapphires totaling 3.74 carats beautifully frames this eastern sketch.
The 50 x 19 mm white gold case is decorated with a volumetric engraving around the perimeter of the case ring. In the engraving's design, the Louis Vuitton flower monogram can be discerned, hidden in the intricate curls.
To avoid disrupting the overall picture, the hands are placed on the reverse side of the case. The watch is powered by the LFT AU14.03 caliber, featuring manual winding and an 8-day power reserve. This is the most complex mechanism in the engineering arsenal of the Louis Vuitton Time Factory masters. In addition to displaying the current time, it supports the functions of a tourbillon and minute repeater.
In total, more than 1000 hours of work are required to produce a single piece of this model. Over 500 of these are spent on assembling and hand-finishing the mechanism, which consists of 561 parts. Another approximately 300 hours are spent on working with enamel. About 160 hours are dedicated to working on the case, 40 of which involve engraving.
The estimated cost of the model is €1,300,000.