If you’ve reached here, stop scrolling any further, and just look at that goddamn watch. Isn’t this Louis Vuitton pocket watch simply incredible? Museum-worthy, my colleague cries out! Before figuring out the entire dynamism of it and setting out to write, I looked again. Is that even a watch? It’s more of an art piece and that’s what it looks like, I told myself. And then reality struck me.
This new Escale Mount Fuji edition pocket watch is the latest from Escales Autour du Monde, LV’s collection of highly detailed pocket watches coming out of the Geneva-based La Fabrique du Temps. Honoring Japan, this one-of-a-kind, high-end pocket watch features a dial that wears the peaceful scenery of dawn over Mount Fuji with hand-engraved details on one side and the functional watch with an open-worked design on the other side.
Designer: Louis Vuitton
Capturing the spirit art and nature, the Louis Vuitton Mount Fuji edition pocket watch features a 50mm 18k white gold case, which measures about 19mm at the thickest point. The beautiful double-sided design with Philippe Dufour-level polishing quality on the openwork view of the dial with the time on one side, and handmade artwork is made to make heads turn and details speak for their craftsmanship.
The artistic side of the Mount Fuji edition is adorned at the top by a vibrant sky comprising 33 distinct colors and 300 hours of painstaking toil with art and traditional techniques. At the 12 o’clock setting, here is a gold compass rose punctuated by Louis Vuitton Monogram flowers. With Mt. Fuji in the background, a wooden fishing boat carrying mythical Ebisu, a beloved figure in Japanese folklore, abode with his emblematic fishing rod and tai sea bream is a dynamic addition.
The boat rocks right to left, the miniature Louis Vuitton trunks onboard open and close, while the compass rose spins around. The defining element still is the Sakura cherry blossoms which also sways like they would in the wind in a natural setting. The entire artistic brilliance is confined within a bezel set with 60 baguette-cut sapphires. This scene within the gradient-matching sapphires, is celebrated with the pocket watch’s Jacquemart mechanism powering the four animations.
The Escale au Mont Fuji, as it’s referred to, is powered by the manual winding LFT AU14.03 caliber which comprises 561 components and provides the pocket watch with an eight-day power reserve. The watch’s hands move to tell time while the minute repeater chimes the hours, quarters and minutes. The visible tourbillon is a fantastic sight on the watch dial that shines in its glory when you hold in your hand. For that, you would need to shell out roughly €1,300,000 (a whopping $1,500,000).
