The new additions to Louis Vuitton’s Escale collection are dressy and thoughtfully designed
It’s becoming difficult to ignore the fine watchmaking creations coming out of Louis Vuitton. Last year, the Maison updated its 22-year-old Tambour collection—releasing a series of tasteful, integrated sports watches that caught the eye with their concentric sector-like dials.
This year, Louis Vuitton is turning its attention to the dress watch market with a refresh of its Escale line.
Coming in four different variations—two in rose-gold and two in platinum—the new Escale watches sport a minimalist design that borders on the conventional. Look closer, however, and you’ll find a degree of finesse and originality that magnifies their appeal. These timepieces retain the Maison’s design codes through thoughtfully conceived elements, ensuring they’d stand out among a sea of contemporary dress watches.
The Louis Vuitton Escale (or “stopover” en anglais) is recognisable by its unique case, featuring distinctive lugs inspired by the riveted brass corners found on the Maison’s iconic trunks. Adding to the collection’s unique 39mm silhouette is a half fluted and half smooth-edged octagonal crown. It’s a subtle design choice, but consider the timepieces in totality—and the dynamic quality of the unconventional crown becomes apparent.
The case design is striking but not new: the 2014 Escale World Time featured a 41mm white-gold version with the same lugs and crown. What is new, though, is Louis Vuitton’s approach to dial design. Unlike the miscellany of colours and shapes that bedizened their 2014 predecessor, this year’s Escales (the rose gold variants in particular) are restrained and refined.
For the two 18k rose gold versions you’ll have the choice of either a blue or silver dial, each stamped with a fine-grained texture that alludes to the Maison’s Monogram canvas. Marking every quarter-hour are rose-gold brackets similar to the ones found on the brand’s trunks that also echo the motif on the lugs, which add just enough visual variation to keep the look interesting.
According to Louis Vuitton, they’re functional too—fastening the textured dial to the outer minute track. Completing the dial are applied rose-gold indices and delicate, tapered hour and minute hands (also in rose gold).
The platinum models, meanwhile, are a little more lavish. The first features a meteorite dial. If you’re unfamiliar with meteorite dials, these striking tableaus of textures typically require watchmakers to acquire pieces of crashed meteorites before meticulously thinning them into discs.
The second platinum model sports a black onyx dial, brilliantly contrasted by an array of baguette-cut diamonds on its bezel. Instead of rose gold, these platinum models use white gold for their quarter-hour markers and hour and minute hands.
Powering the four timepieces is the same LFT023 automatic micro-rotor seen in last year’s Tambour. The movement, which is not ostentatiously decorated, offers a 50 hour power reserve.
If you’re interested in procuring these timepieces, the rose-gold models will set you back $38,500 each, while the meteorite-dial and onyx-dial platinum models cost $51,500 and $245,000, respectively.
