I’m equally not surprised why this watch won the 2007 the Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève in the Men's Watch category. Out of a pre-selection of 9 watches submitted by major and minor brands for the men’s watches category of the Grand Prix de Genève, the Kari Voutilainen OBSERVATOIRE wristwatch was chosen as the ultimate laureate. It represented an extraordinary recognition of Kari Voutilainen’s independent workshop as well as his distinctive yet classic visual designs combined with a superlative attention to mechanical details. This prestigious achievement, voted upon by top Swiss watch industry insiders, is a public acknowledgement of horological mastery and a commitment to the creation of exceptional timekeepers.
Part of the appeal of owning an Independent watch is that you get to share and understand the values of the watchmaker. Kari Voutilainen has always appealed to me as he is a perfectionist and one of the true custodians of Haute Horologerie. Production is always limited and now with around 13 staff he aims to produce a maximum of 40 pieces per year.
Owning a vintage observatory grade chronometer is an added bonus. Kari has done a remarkable job on the 260 Peseux base calibers. He threw out the entire escapement and inserted a balance wheel, hairspring, and escape mechanism of his own making. Each movement has been technically adjusted and tested before being finished with hand anglage and perlage to bring it to the highest levels of visual finish possible.
In this particular case, it features a frosted finish instead of Geneva stripes.
Befitting such a exceptional timepiece is a very rare and unique system of balance spring has been used. The exterior of the spring uses a typical Breguet overcoil, whilst the internal curve uses the little known Grosmann curve. Grosmann was a teacher at the watchmaking school at Le Locle in the late early 20th century, and he codified a technique that gives the same amount of attention to the internal curve of the balance spring as the external overcoil. Virtually unknown and fallen into disuse, the OBSERVATOIRE wristwatch marks the first use of this curve in the 21st century, underlining the fact that many of the older watchmaking techniques still have their place of honour in the present day.
Observatoire Technical Characteristics :
• Observatory calibre 260 Peseux, created solely for observatory trials and never commercialized for the production. Hand finished with Geneva stripes, anglage and perlage.
• 30mm x 5mm movement.
• Ruby cap jewels for the escapement wheel.
• 21 jewels.
• Free sprung balance wheel with Platinum timing screws beating at 18,000 v.p.h.
• Balance diameter 13.3mm with Breguet/Grossmann balance spiral.
• 38mm x 10.5mm thick platinum case and 18-carat gold crown.
• Engine turned gold dial, with Roman applied numerals and gold hands.
• Hand sewn, crocodile strap with 18-carat gold buckle.
• Kari Voutilainen’s dials are not made by him for the Observatoire, but were outsourced at the time to Parmigiani-owned companies.
• The blued hands, however, are made in-house.
I love the fact that each watch Kari makes is statement in its own right. From my understanding around 40-50 Voutilainen Observatoires have been produced. However, this watch is probably more unique than most, and definitely one of the most significant. It features a platinum case (one of perhaps six Observatoires in this case metal), a salmon dial (one of perhaps two), and a frosted gold movement (one of perhaps three or four). No other Observatoire looks like this one. Also featured are a tourbillon-style balance bridge and a rare circular "Voutlinainen - Môtiers" movement inscription.
I’ve only had this watch for a few days and its certainly is one of my favourite wearers. The platinum case gives this 38mm Observatoire a feeling of substance and elegance.
This watch has taken me back to the passion and excitement of my early collecting days.
