Results for Kari Voutilainen

Introducing: Zenith Teams Up With Kari Voutilainen And Phillips To Bring Its Historic Caliber 135-O Back To Life

The reborn Zenith Caliber 135 Observatoire is a limited edition of 10 pieces, available exclusively through Phillips.

Hands-On: Kari Voutilainen Created This One-Of-A-Kind Vingt-8 For His 20th Anniversary

Straight outta Comblémine.

Interview: Why Indie Watchmaking Star Kari Voutilainen Is All-In On Reviving An Underrated Danish Brand

The Finnish watchmaker taps into his past to chart the future of a hidden gem.

Introducing: The Schwarz Etienne Roma Synergy By Kari Voutilainen

What happens when a movement from Schwarz Etienne gets the Voutilainen touch?

Found: One Of Kari Voutilainen's Very First Watches (And, Yes, It's A Minute Repeater)

Sometimes the quietest flex is the biggest flex.

Live from Baselworld 2019: Kari Voutilainen

New from Kari Vingt-8 Inverse. The case 39mm Ti, 13.5mm (up from 11.5mm in the regular). To inverse the movement is redesigned. 269 components compared to 140+ in the regular. And more than 40 are new. Bridges are in rhodium plated German Silver. On the front only two hands. The back is the small secondsRead More

First Look: Kari Voutilainen Aki-No-Kure, Pièce Unique (Video)

Kari Voutilainen’s New Green GMT

A closer look at Leica S2 and Summarit-S 120: photographing the amazing Kari Voutilainen Vingt-8

Following up on last Friday’s remarks using DeBethune’s remarkable DB25T as an example, today’s post I use the same combination on the Voutilainen Vingt8 (28). Also photographed in L’Atelier by The Hour Glass using my usual set-up. I have featured the Vingt-8 before. As I described earlier, this is a magnificent watch. As mentioned inRead More

Hands-On: Cleguer Horology Inspiration One

Mathieu Cleguer makes his debut under his own name, with the intricate Inspiration One. The relatively young movement constructor is well known in the industry but has not produced watches under his own name until now. Having worked for various movement specialists — including a stint at Akrivia — Mr Cleguer launches Cleguer Horology with a thoroughly impressive debut featuring a proprietary escapement.  Initial thoughts Although the market for artisanal time-only watches has becoming increasingly crowded, sometimes a new creation comes along that genuinely stands apart. This is the case with Cleguer Horology’s Inspiration One — a watch that that is surprisingly refined and technically imaginative for a new maker’s debut. Mathieu Cleguer is representative of a new class of independent watchmakers who are not ‘watchmakers’ in the traditional sense. Instead, he is an engineer, with the training and experience to bring fundamentally new concepts to life, so long as he can find the manufacturing partners and bench watchmakers to help realise his vision. It’s a fundamentally different background than what we’re used to seeing — George Daniels, Kari Voutilainen, and François-Paul Journe started their careers doing hands-on restoration work long before they designed movements of their own. But times have changed, and the emergence of engineer-led brands is a new trend made possible by the depth of the supplier network in Switzerland. For the visual design of...

Video – How Does it Work? The Sympathique Clock of the Louis Vuitton x De Bethune Explained by Denis Flageollet

As you might remember, Louis Vuitton and De Bethune recently introduced the third chapter in LV’s ongoing journey through independent watchmaking, the LVDB-03 Louis Varius Project, following the LVRR-01 Chronographe à Sonnerie made with Rexhep Rexhepi, founder of Atelier Akrivia, and the LVKV-02 GMR 6 made with Finnish-born watchmaker Kari Voutilainen. While we were expecting to […]

Hazemann & Monnin Wins 2026 Louis Vuitton Watch Prize

Today in Paris a panel of five judges – including Carole Forestier-Kasapi and Kari Voutilainen – presented Alexandre Hazemann and Victor Monnin with the Louis Vuitton Watch Prize for Independent Creatives. The very same young watchmakers who won the F.P. Journe Young Talent Competition in 2023, the pair clinched the prize for their jump-hour “School Watch”. Launched in 2023 by Jean Arnault, who has spearheaded Louis Vuitton’s fine watchmaking ambitions, the initiative supports promising independent watchmakers while burnishing the maison’s credibility in the watch world. Last year the trophy – and its matching Louis Vuitton trunk – went to Raul Pages for his RP1 Régulateur à Détente. This edition’s victors met at Lycée Edgar Faure, a technical high school in Morteau, France, which is well known for its strong and respected watch and jewellery bent. Their aptly named School Watch developed from the pair’s school watch project. They have since set up shop in Saint-Aubin-Sauges, Switzerland, though both will now have the option of a one-year apprenticeship at Louis Vuitton’s La Fabrique du Temps manufacture in Geneva, in addition to financial support. In December, a Committee culled the 20 semifinalists, which we covered here, down to just five in December and appointed a five-person panel to select the winner. Other finalists included Norifumi Seki, who debuted the ambitious Fading Hours alarm watch, and Bernhard Lederer. Carole Forestier-Kasapi pr...

First Look – The Louis Vuitton x De Bethune LVDB-03 Louis Varius Project, With a Rare Sympathetic Clock

Here’s the third of the five collaboration watches done by Louis Vuitton with some of the most revered independent watchmakers. Indeed, following the LVRR-01 Chronographe à Sonnerie made with Rexhep Rexhepi, founder of Atelier Akrivia, and the LVKV-02 GMR 6 made with Finnish-born watchmaker Kari Voutilainen, it’s time now for LV to unveil its project […]

Hands On: Louis Vuitton x De Bethune LVDB-03 Louis Varius Project

Following collaborations with Rexhep Rexhepi and Kari Voutilainen, Louis Vuittion turns to De Bethune’s Denis Flageollet for its biggest independent collaboration to date, both literally and figuratively. The release spans two timekeepers - the first is the LVDB-03 GMT Louis Varius, a heat-blued titanium wristwatch that can be wound and set by the LVDB-03 Sympathique Louis Varius, an ambitious métiers d’art Sympathique clock. Initial thoughts Having worked on Sympathique clocks for Breguet during his spell at Techniques Horlogères Appliquées (THA) in the 1990s, Mr Flageollet revisits the concept on his own terms. De Bethune is one of the few independent brands with its own clockmaking workshop, which is a testament to Mr Flageollet’s experience gained at THA. The Sympathique clock is finely wrought, with several charming artistic flourishes embodying De Bethune’s house style with a generous use of blued titanium. While this Sympathique arguably is a historical tribute rather than state-of-the art, it is nonetheless easier to use than its antecedents, with a simplified docking process that doesn’t require the watch’s strap to be removed. In terms of usability, this Sympathique is arguably the most advanced to date; moreover, both clocks can be paired with any of the watches in the series, an interchangeability underlining the precision of make that was absent in historical Sympathique clocks. Denis Flageollet at the launch event in Tokyo. The massive ornam...

Introducing – The Classic Spirit of the Voutilainen 216TMZ Worldtime

Independent Finnish master watchmaker Kari Voutilainen is regarded as one of the best in his field. Working from his atelier in Motiers, which he founded in 2002, Voutilainen is known for his high-end watches with in-house movements and hand-guilloché dials. His latest watch, the 216TMZ Worldtime, features a movement with a direct-impulse double escapement, first […]

Hands-On: The Last Vingt-8 And The First Of Something New With The Voutilainen 28MPR Moonphase And KV21 Tonneau

Kari Voutilainen bids farewell to the VINGT-8 movement platform as of December 31, 2025, and introduced a new KV21 hand-wound that will be the brand's base for the future.

Year in Review: Our Best Stories of 2025

Our 2025 coverage included original research and in-depth stories including CEO interviews, engineering explainers, behind-the-scenes manufacture visits, and hands-on features exploring the latest developments in modern horology. We’d like to thank our readers for their engagement and support, which continue to shape and sustain our work. Our founder SJX provided an in-depth study of the Breguet Sympathique No. 1, with exclusive insights from its creator François-Paul Journe. The story is notable not only for its technical reconstruction of the mechanism but also for clarifying how the Sympathique informed Journe’s earliest thinking as a constructor before launching his namesake brand. SJX also spent time with the people leading the industry. Interviews with Kari Voutilainen, Gregory Kissling, Ilaria Resta, and Marc Michel-Amadry offered unusually direct insight into how each manufacture is approaching product development, heritage, and shifting collector behaviour. That research-driven approach continued across several technical features, including his hands-on review of the Rolex Land-Dweller, the most consequential mainstream release of 2025. His analysis unpacked both the engineering decisions behind the cal. 7135 and the strategic implications of Rolex introducing a new collection. Finally his analysis of the record-breaking Patek Philippe ref. 1518 in steel and reporting from the major auctions traced the evolving tastes and appetites of a tightening pool of top...

SJX Podcast: Best of 2025 – Independent Watchmaking

Episode 21 of the SJX Podcast reflects on independent watchmaking in 2025, a year that saw fewer genuinely new releases than expected. Many familiar names opted for variations on existing models rather than bold new directions, making the standout pieces all the more significant, including Urban Jürgensen’s impressive relaunch under Kari Voutilainen, two exceptional time-only watches that proved there’s still room for originality in a crowded field, and interesting calendars from Greubel Forsey, Konstantin Chaykin, and Berneron. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Youtube.  

First Look – The Voutilainen 28MPR, the Farewell Edition to the Exceptional Vingt-8 Series

Kari Voutilainen is one of the most respected names in independent watchmaking. Since founding his atelier in 2002 in the Swiss Jura, the Finnish-born genius has been creating timepieces that combine the best of traditional craftsmanship with true mechanical ingenuity. His watches won’t be mistaken for someone else’s work, with elaborate guilloché dials, exceptional finishing […]

Best of 2025: Independent Watchmaking

Independent watchmaking presented relatively few genuinely new releases in 2025. Many watchmakers instead reintroduced familiar models in new configurations or colourways - an approach typically associated with larger brands. The strongest releases were excellent, but they were few and far between. Our highlights reflect that: Urban Jürgensen’s relaunch stood out for its confidence and momentum, while Petermann Bédat and Raúl Pagès showed there is still room to say something new within the time-only format. Urban Jürgensen UJ-1 Tourbillon – SJX When I first heard about Urban Jürgensen being revived, I was sceptical. Could an investor halfway across the world and a watchmaker busy with his own brand pull it off? As it turned out, they could. The Rosenfields, Andy and Alex, father and son, and Kari Voutilainen, managed to put together a collection of three watches – all impressively conceived and executed – and then deliver a good number of watches in the months since the launch in mid-2025. The flagship of the Urban Jürgensen line-up and clearly its best creation to date is the UJ-1. A tourbillon with remontoir, the UJ-1 is modelled on the Oval pocket watch that was made by Derek Pratt for Urban Jürgensen. The movement instantly feels like it was descended from the Oval, which is a feat considering the disparity in scale. Mr Voutilainen managed to translate many of the key elements of the Oval into wristwatch format, including the “floating” barrel and...

Voutilainen Appoints Angélique Singele CEO

A significant transition is underway at Voutilainen as Angélique Singele is appointed chief executive officer of the brand, marking an important step in its long-term succession planning. The announcement follows Dubai Watch Week, where Kari Voutilainen discussed the future of founder-led independent watchmaking and his desire to keep the enterprise - spanning Voutilainen, Comblémine, Brodbeck Guillochage, and Voutilainen & Cattin - firmly independent. With Ms Singele taking over day-to-day leadership, Mr Voutilainen plans to refocus on creation, unique pieces, and client relationships, signalling a new chapter for one of the most influential names in contemporary independent horology. In conversations, Mr Voutilainen sometimes expresses frustrations at his long days filled with administrative and management matters, which leave him less time to deal with the watchmaking he is most passionate about. Initial thoughts The timing of Ms Singele’s appointment makes a lot of sense coming shortly after Dubai Watch Week, where Mr Voutilainen was a panelist, alongside Maximilian Büsser, on the topic of succession for founder-led independent watch brands. During the discussion Mr Voutilainen revealed that this is something he’s thought about since the beginning. “I was already thinking, almost at the beginning of my career, that there are only three ways [it might end]: stop the business, sell the business, or have the family continue it.” The appointment of Ms Singel...

First Look – The Voutilainen KV21 Tonneau, An All-New Collection for the Indie Watchmaker

A seminal figure of independent watchmaking, Kari Voutilainen is one of the most respected and revered craftsmen of the watchmaking industry, manufacturing only a few dozen timepieces each year to a standard that mass production can never attain. With integrity and exceptional artistry, his creations – produced in highly limited numbers – are considered grail […]

Editorial: Reflections on WatchTime New York 2025

Autumn has always been a special time in New York, and that’s especially true now that the city plays host to the nation’s flagship watch fair. Held each October in the heart of Midtown, WatchTime New York has become one of the most high profile public watch fairs in the United States, bringing together independent watchmakers, major brands, and collectors under the imposing dome of Gotham Hall. Now in its tenth year, the 2025 edition was the largest yet, and served as the backdrop for the public unveiling of a few notable watches (and one strap). The Greubel Forsey Hand Made 2. Initial thoughts This was my third year attending WatchTime, and the experience is remarkably consistent from year-to-year. That said, this year’s event was clearly the biggest yet, with 44 brands and more than 2,700 visitors. Despite this turnout, it’s still a fraction the size of an event like Watches & Wonders, which gives it a more intimate feel that reminds me of SalonQP, which was an annual watch fair in London put on by now-defunct QP magazine. In other words, it’s big enough to attract big names and small enough to allow the general public to meet watchmakers that they might not otherwise have access to; Kari Voutilainen, Stepan Sarpaneva, Martin Frei of Urwerk, Albert Edelmann of Zeitwinkel, and Roland Murphy of RGM were present throughout the fair to engage with collectors. A big turnout Not only did WatchTime attendance set a record, the nearby Windup Watch Fair, a free event f...

Introducing – The new Cushion-Shaped Voutilainen KV20i Reversed CS

Kari Voutilainen is regarded as one of the greatest independent watchmakers on the scene today. Working from his atelier in Môtiers, Switzerland, the Finnish master watchmaker produces some of the most coveted complications, drawing collectors from near and far to admire his minute repeaters, tourbillons and other in-house delicacies. The latest marvel to emerge from […]

Voutilainen Squares the Circle With the KV20i Reversed CS

Voutilainen turns the popular three-hand formula inside out to put the movement front and centre, now with a titanium cushion-case for the first time. The KV20i Reversed CS is not revolutionary, instead building on the KV20i Reversed Cherry from last year, but the movement remains one of the best in its segment, with hands, case, and half of a dial to match. Initial Thoughts Kari Voutilainen is a seminal figure in independent watchmaking, partly responsible for the popularity of elaborately decorated three-hand watches with dazzling guilloche dials – and not just because his company, Comblémine, makes a good number of those guilloche dials for other brands. Mr Voutilainen was at least a decade ahead of his time with his Observatoire of 2007, a watch that, alongside Philippe Dufour’s Simplicity, cultivated a market for this format. Nearly two decades later, his watches stand out less aesthetically, but his quality remains superlative – and has even improved. An Observatoire made in 2007, now 18 years old. Image – Phillips The cushion-shaped case is a new variable in a familiar formula, taking after the unique TP1 pocket watch Kari and Venla Voutilainen made for Only Watch 2019. Four prominent security screws hold the case together, and make for a more contemporary aesthetic that works well with Kari’s already pleasantly eclectic style. And for better or worse (depending on the collector’s taste) the Reversed CS leaves ample room for customisation. Beyond the c...