Manufacturer: Voutilainen Year: 2008 Movement No: 11'291'404 Model Name: Chronomètre 27 "Unique" Material: 18k white gold Calibre: Manual, Longines 360 ébauche, 21 jewels Bracelet/Strap: Leather Clasp/Buckle: 18k white gold Voutilainen deployant clasp Dimensions: 44mm Length and 35.5mm Width Signed: Case, dial, movement and clasp signed Accessories: Accompanied by Voutilainen fitted box, guarantee, service logbook, extra white gold Voutilainen pin buckle, polishing cloth and outer packaging. Literature: Kari Voutilainen and his works are featured in Kari Voutilainen Horlogerie d'Art by Theodore Diehl as well as in Watchmakers, The Masters of Art Horology by Maxima Gallery pp. 228-247 and in Twelve faces of Time, Horological Virtuosos by Elisabeth Doerr and Ralf Baumgarten pp. 90-105
Catalogue Essay
Following the immense success of his Observatoire wristwatches featuring a reworked Peseux 260 ébauche, Kari Voutilainen - in 2008 - once again used another emblematic chronometer movement, this time based on the incredible high beat Longines 360.
The Longines 360 caliber was completely devised from the ground up with observatory competitions in mind - it was a rectangular movement with a cutting edge (for the time) high frequency of 36,000 VPH, which subsequently won numerous prizes at the Neuchatel Observatory trials. With a total of 498 Bulletins de Marche, calibre 360 claims the most number of successful submissions of any wristwatch-sized chronometer calibre between 1959 and 1967!
Observatory movements were made to compete but not look specifically pleasing to the eye, Voutilainen painstakingly disassembled each component and meticulously hand-finished them with beveling, perlage, gilding and frosting, each to the highest levels of visual and technical perfection possible. Furthermore, the Guillaume balance was fitted with a Breguet overcoil and Grosmann internal curve for maximum precision.
Housed in a large white gold rectangular case with lugs reminiscent of Voutilainen’s tear drop lugs the watch has a regulator type dial layout with hours indicated via a central hand, hours at 12 o’clock and seconds at 6 o’clock.
According to Voutilainen around twenty two Chronomètre 27 pieces in both white and pink gold were made.
However, the present example is made even more covetable as is it is the only example made in white gold with a dark chocolate brown hand guilloché dial (the other models had a hand guilloché grey dial).