Louis Vuitton Launches The Escale Platinum Guilloché And Grand Feu Enamel Dial
The core model Louis Vuitton wristwatch becomes a vehicle for a classic exercise in decorative arts.
It seems for some reason as if it has been much longer but Louis Vuitton launched the time-only Escale collection just a few months ago, last June to be exact, although this has after all felt like an exceptionally long, not to say arduous, year. The Escale name was also applied last March to a collection of métiers d’art pieces based on Japanese sword guards found in the collection of Gaston-Louis Vuitton, although the basic Escale case design has been around since 2014 when it debuted in the Escale World Time. The June time-only watches were however, arguably the most significant launch for Escale as a collection in the decade LV has used the name; they were and are intended to be the foundation of a new and more elevated chapter in watchmaking at Louis Vuitton in general. Louis Vuitton has just announced a new model, in a platinum case, with an enamel dial making use of two sophisticated enameling techniques, known as champlevé and flinqué.
The four launch models were offered in two gold watches with silver or blue textured dials, and two platinum models, with either meteorite or onyx dials. All four had in common design cues taken from Louis Vuitton’s trunk hardware, but the luggage design elements are well integrated and unobtrusive; you notice them as abstract design elements before noticing – and it might take a while to notice – that they’re derived from LV’s trunks. The new platinum model shares the same basic design elements, but with the addition of a dial made using two relatively rare enameling techniques: flinqué enameling, or the placement of a translucent enamel coat over engraving and champlevé, in which a design is carved in negative relief into a metal surface, and then, likewise, covered with translucent enamel.
The platinum case and rehaut are offset by small blue beads for the hour markers, with two each on the applied dial markers at the quarters, whose shapes are derived from LV trunk brackets. The inner part of the dial has a shallow recess in which a guilloché pattern has been engraved – the operation of engraving is more demanding than usual, LV says, as the cutting head of the rose engine has to be guided right up to the lip of the recess.
Once the pattern’s engraved, the enamelist fills the recess with powdered blue enamel, which is then fired. The vitrified enamel forms a translucent layer over the guilloché pattern.
You’ll notice that the tabs at the quarters appear to be riveted to the dial – this is somewhat difficult to do since drilling through enamel will cause it to crack. To get around this, LV used a laser to precision drill holes for the marker rivets; applied markers due to this technical challenge are rare on enamel dials, which generally have painted or stamped markers or numerals.
The back of the dial has a coating of enamel as well, over an engraving which reads “Guilloché Main, Émail Grand Feu.” Technically this is an example of flinqué enameling, in which enamel is applied over engraving; the functional purpose of the enamel on the reverse side of the dial is to prevent the dial blank from warping during the repeated firings at 800ºC necessary to fuse the enamel on the upper side of the dial.
As with the preceding time-only Escale watches, the movement is the micro-rotor caliber LF023, which is produced by La Fabrique du Temp’s partner, Le Cercle des Horlogers. Cal. LF023 has a 22k gold winding rotor and a 50 hour power reserve, and as with its predecessors, it’s certified as a chronometer by the Geneva Observatory.
The new Escale Platinum Guilloché has the same combination of contemporary design elements with classic fine watchmaking inspiration as the four launch models, although given the case metal and the enamelwork on the dial, I would expect it in person to have a particularly strong wrist presence – champlevé and flinqué enameling produce optical effects not found in any other decorative dial technique and the cool shimmer of the enameling pairs well with the austere coolness of the platinum case.
The Louis Vuitton Escale Platinum Guilloché: case, 950 platinum, 39mm x 8.97 without domed crystal; 10.34mm with crystal; sapphire crystals front and back; water resistant to 50 meters. Dial, grand feu enamel over hand-applied guilloché on white gold plate. Movement, cal. LFT023, micro-rotor automatic with 22k rose gold winding mass; running at 28,800 vph in 32 jewels; chronometer certified by the Geneva Observatory. Blue calf leather strap with platinum pin buckle. Price, $68,000; limited edition of 50 pieces. See the Escale Collection at LouisVuitton.com.