LVDB-03 Sympathique Louis Varius

Description

Louis Vuitton and De Bethune join forces to present the third chapter in Louis Vuitton’s ongoing journey through independent watchmaking, the LVDB-03 Louis Varius Project. From the close collaboration of La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton and Master Watchmaker Denis Flageollet, the co-founder of De Bethune, comes a project that brought together thirty specialists – from fifteen different technical and artistic disciplines – to focus on a shared challenge: reinterpreting the “sympathique” mechanism. Now, two exceptional time objects embody the grandeur of this effort: a “sympathique” clock paired with an exclusive version of De Bethune’s DB25 GMT Starry Varius watch, whose movement is housed in a blued titanium Louis Vuitton Tambour Taiko case.

At the heart of the LVDB-03 Sympathique Louis Varius is a key-wound movement manufactured entirely by De Bethune. Comprising 763 components and equipped with two large barrels and a remontoir d’égalité, the in-house caliber delivers outstanding stability and autonomy. Beating at 18,000 vibrations per hour (2.5 Hz), it offers an impressive 11-day power reserve. The LVDB-03 GMT Louis Varius watch, powered by the De Bethune-designed DB2507LV calibre, is centrally placed in the clock by simply opening the strap and setting the timepiece in the designated compartment. It then enters into “sympathie”, by way of its crown, with the clock’s mechanism, which automatically winds the watch every ten hours and recalibrates its display every two hours if it differs from the clock by +/- seven minutes.

The clock’s architecture is inspired by the aesthetic codes of Louis Vuitton’s Tambour design, reinterpreting the iconic case shape. The double-sided, complementary hour markers are reproduced on the clock dial. De Bethune’s own signatures are also found on the dial: crafted from polished, blued titanium, a House hallmark, it is decorated with a starry sky and De Bethune’s emblematic Milky Way.

Anchored to a titanium base that is decorated with a marquetry of blued meteorite, the clock can be set in multiple orientations, a reference to the adjustable presentation of historical marine chronometers. In its reference position, the clock measures 310 mm in width, 266 mm in depth, and 260 mm in height. When inclined, its maximum height extends to 313 mm, offering versatility in display.

The most poetic feature on the clock was collaboratively created by Denis Flageollet and Belgian illustrator François Schuiten, an artist with a fantastic imaginary world: three panoramas, inspired by 19th-century dioramas and hand-engraved on rings of 5N rose gold. These miniature landscapes, each an ode to the Louis Vuitton Art of Travel, were hand-executed by Master Engraver Michèle Rothen and cover nearly a full meter of surface area: a steam train crossing a viaduct, hot-air balloons floating above the African savannah, sherpas climbing steep peaks. These golden scenes encircle the mechanism and slowly rotate, creating a sublime sense of the circular, cyclical nature of time. Crowning the clock is a decorative dome, also in rose gold, that features a hand-engraved image of the constellation Hercules, a subtle nod to the astrological sign of Louis Vuitton’s founder.

Sheltered by a polished titanium trunk inspired by the iconic Louis Vuitton Trophy Trunk and crafted by the House’s artisans within the historic Asnières workshop, the “sympathique” clock is one of the most exclusive and unique objects ever produced by Louis Vuitton and De Bethune.

The clock is presented together with the watch in order to illustrate the “sympathique” function. The indicated retail price therefore includes both the cost of the clock and that of the watch.

Supplied by the brand to the GPHG for its entry.