With its Escales Autour du Monde pocket watch depicting Mount Fuji and its surroundings in bloom, Louis Vuitton sets the tone for the season – and is joined by a handful of watches dressed in spring-ready shades of pink and green. By Charmian Leong Few brands lean into wanderlust quite like Louis Vuitton.
Beyond its famed trunks, watch collections such as the Escale Spin Time and Escale World Time have long turned travel into colourful horological escapism. But with its Escales Autour du Monde series of one-off pocket watches, the maison takes that idea further still. The third chapter, the Louis Vuitton Escale au Mont Fuji Pocket Watch, shifts the scene to Japan. Depicting Mount Fuji at dawn, the dial is a tour de force of metiers d’art craftsmanship.
Activate the minute repeater and four animations come to life. A gold compass rose slowly rotates. Branches and blossoms sway in the breeze. Miniature Louis Vuitton trunks aboard a fishing boat open and close to reveal the brand’s Monogram flowers. The artistry lies in the minutiae. The engraving details on Ebisu, the Japanese deity of fortune and fishermen, and the tai he carries demanded such precision that the maison’s master engraver had to create specialised tools for the task. The case middle is also engraved, with Monogram flowers cheekily embedded in the traditional Seigaiha wave pattern.
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Colour arrives through a variety of enamel techniques. Miniature painting brings Mount Fuji and the tiny trees at its base to life. Silver-leaf paillonne enamel lends the lake a shimmering surface. Raised Monogram flowers appear in the sky, adding a soft, three-dimensional touch. In total, the dial required 33 pastel hues and 40 separate firings. Around the dial, 60 carefully gradated sapphires provide a final, sparkling flourish.
Mechanical artistry is equally considered. Inside the 50mm 18K white gold case, the in-house calibre LFT AU14.03 combines minute repeater, tourbillon and animated automata. Its 561 components are meticulously hand-finished with bevelled inner angles, engraved bridges and mirror-polished steelwork. More than 1,000 hours were required to complete the watch. It is delivered with a gold chain, a bespoke trunk and a pale blue leather doctor’s-style bag – ready, perhaps, for its next journey.
Cherry Blossoms in Ethical Rose Gold
Cherry blossoms rarely last long, which is part of their charm, but the Chopard L.U.C XP Sakura By Night offers a more reassuringly enduring interpretation. Inspired by a kimono from the 1774 kabuki dance Sono Omokage Ninin Wankyu, the 35mm ethical rose gold watch evokes yozakura, cherry blossoms glowing softly in the night. A guilloche dial finished with translucent lacquer forms the backdrop. Hand-engraved mother-of-pearl flowers are tinted individually and set with diamond centres.
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The artistry continues within. The ultra-thin L.U.C 96.23-L movement features bridges decorated using the traditional Fleurisanne engraving technique. After gilding, the finish is delicately removed around the sakura pattern, dot by dot. Impressively, finishing the movement alone takes some 15 days.
Sage Green and Mint Tones
There’s green, and then there’s the kind of green that calls to mind dew-kissed leaves and misty mountains at dawn. If that’s the sort of wearable calm you’re after, Hublot offers three interpretations in its Hublot Classic Fusion Sage Green series. The lineup begins with a 33mm time-and-date model. Its bezel is set with 36 diamonds for a touch of feminine sparkle. A clean 42mm time-and-date reference follows, letting the soft sage tone take centre stage.
A larger 45mm chronograph rounds out the trio with snailed, silver-toned counters. All three are housed in lightweight titanium. They are paired with rubber straps featuring fabric inserts designed to mimic the look of Milanese mesh.
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For those who prefer pink, Parmigiani Fleurier offers a different approach. The Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda PF Automatic 36mm Alta Rosa introduces a new dial colour dubbed Alta Rosa. It can be difficult to find a pink-dialled watch that isn’t so pale it’s practically salmon, or so bright it looks neon. But Parmigiani has long proven that it is a master of the measured approach. Like the blue and grey versions before it, the dial features the collection’s signature Grain d’Orge guilloche. It is framed by a knurled platinum bezel, keeping the look characteristically refined.
Power comes from the PF770 automatic calibre, offering 60 hours of reserve. It is finished with Cotes de Geneve, hand-bevelled bridges, and wound by a polished and sandblasted 22K rose gold rotor.
