Total series of 30 Voutilainen 217QRS watches : 10 platinum, 10 white gold, 10 rose gold.
Kari Voutilainen, born in 1962, is a Finnish watchmaker residing in Môtiers, Switzerland. He started an independent watchmaking business in 2002, building a limited number of handmade timekeepers. His latest creation presented at 2018 SIHH – Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie encapsulates the philosophy of Kari Voutilainen. The elegant and strong mechanism of the Voutilainen 217QRS timepieces is housed in a stylish and elegant case.
The in-house movement inspired from Vingt-8 is designed, built, fabricated, finished and assembled in its entirety in Voutilainen workshops. “The design and philosophy of the movement combines respect for longevity and precision with classical watchmaking tradition,” says Voutilainen manufacture.
Retrograde date mechanism is unique construction entirely integrated in main plate. Setting the date cannot be easier to do by pressing the crown down. One press makes the date hand advance one day. Special mechanism is created for the return of the date hand from 31st to 1st. Date hand comes slowly back to 1. By doing this, mechanism will work surely avoiding bouncing once arriving at first day.
The movement has a very large balance wheel manufactured in-house, allowing perfect regulation of the watch to within strict tolerances. To equip such an exceptional timepiece, a very rare and unique balance- spring system has been used. The exterior of the spring uses a typical Phillips overcoil,while the internal curve uses the little known Grossmann curve.
The escapement makes the movement very special; this is the first watch to have two escapement wheels in such a configuration. The escapement wheels give a direct impulse to the balance through the impulse roller/jewel. This escapement is extremely efficient and requires much less
energy than traditional lever escapements, offering benefits in terms of longevity and stability in day-to-day use.
The balance-wheel bridge is sublimely elegant, offering an unimpeded view of the escapement and balance. It also allows the enthusiast to admire the synchronized movements of the escapement wheels.
The surfaces of pinions and wheels are completely flat and highly polished to within exceptionally uniform tolerances. All finishing work on the main plate and bridges is made by hand to achieve the highest possible levels of surface finish. Screws and all steel parts are finished and polished by hand. Read about all Voutilainen SIHH launches here.
