Anniversary tourbillon equipped with a landmark power reserve indication for its creator.
A Finnish watchmaker based in Switzerland, Kari Voutilainen has teamed up in many collaborations without needless hype or noisy PR, and he continues to develop his namesake brand.
Today, the brand represents a team with dozens of employees, manufacture calibers, cases with a recognisable silhouette, and of course, flawless guilloché in every sense.
The Voutilainen brand with an annual production output of barely 50 pieces is one of the most outstanding representatives of the indie watch scene — there's a good reason why Voutilainen's work is shortlisted year after year at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG). When Voutilainen received the Men's Watch Prize in 2013, he recalled how the first complication appeared in his wristwatch line.
It was a power reserve indication. The same complication can be found in the new Voutilainen Tourbillon 20th Anniversary model, which the watchmaker has released to celebrate his independent company's 20th anniversary.
As a matter of fact, Voutilainen could have also marked the 30th anniversary since the creation of his own first watch. Moreover, the new Tourbillon 22 has been inspired by the same first model.
The power reserve indication isn't the only thing that the latest watch has borrowed from the pocket watch tourbillon made thirty years ago, which had the indication placed on the other side of the dial between one o'clock and two o'clock.
The novelty also borrows the architecture of the tourbillon carriage, as well as the twin-barrel system. Like in 1994, they're linked up with the help of the center wheel's pinion. The power reserve for the new caliber inspired by the pocket-watch engine is 72 hours.
As you'd expect, the watch dial demonstrates meticulous work with a selection of different forms of guilloché, where each zone has its own distinct pattern. And while the pocket watch model was inspired by Breguet's creations, the new watch now demonstrates Kari Voutilainen's own style.
The case with straight lugs measures 40 mm × 13 mm. The knurled pattern on the side of the case echoes the finish on the pocket watch. Versions of the anniversary novelty have been released in different case materials: platinum, white gold, rose gold, as well as steel (this last version is a unique piece).