Louis Vuitton Escale en Alaska Pocket Watch
Louis Vuitton has unveiled the Escale en Alaska, a unique pocket watch that is the most complicated in the Escale Autour du Monde collection to date. It features a minute repeater, a tourbillon, and nine animated elements on the dial, depicting an arctic scene inspired by Alaskan glaciers and wildlife. The watch showcases a blend of haute horlogerie and artistic crafts, including miniature enamel painting and hand-sculpted automaton pieces.
- Unique piece
- 50mm 18k white gold case
- 8-day power reserve
- Minute repeater
- Tourbillon
- 30m water resistance
The Escale en Alaska's dial features nine animated elements, including a central iceberg, waddling penguins, a breaching whale, and an Orca, activated by the minute repeater.
The background of the dial is a miniature enamel painting of an Alaskan glacier and aurora, requiring over 300 hours to complete using 32 colors and 35 firings.
The bezel is set with 60 colored sapphires in shades of blue, white, and green, matching the dial's colors at the bezel's edge.
The 18k white gold case is hand-engraved with raindrop and snowflake motifs, referencing the polar theme and Louis Vuitton's history of water-resistant trunks.
The manually-wound LFT AU14.03 movement incorporates a tourbillon and minute repeater, with the jacquemart mechanism enhanced with 190 additional components for the nine animations.
The movement features a display case back with an inverted handset for time-setting and silent reading, designed to avoid distracting from the dial's animations.
Movement finishing includes haute horlogerie techniques, with components crafted in solid yellow gold, including jewel settings and train wheels, and 735 inner angles.