WORLDTEMPUS – 21 June 2011
Louis Nardin
Kari Voutilainen lives and works in the same patrician building, an edifice built at the beginning of the twentieth century in Môtiers. In truth, the organization of this magnificent building cozily coiled within a belt of trees in the heart of the Val-de-Travers corresponds precisely to the epoch when the watchmaker was directly in contact with his clientele. A master of time and space, Voutilainen works with very few retailers, and his production of around 50 pieces per year finds its way to educated wrists well before it ever leaves his workshop.
The spirit of watchmaking of days gone by reigns supreme at every level in Voutilainen's watches. Like many other watchmakers of his talent and predilection, he also learned the most about his chosen field through contact with older watchmakers like Georges Meylan. Voutilainen is an artisan who masters all the secrets of the craft, searching out a perfect alliance between beauty, technology, and chronometry. He even commands the secret of the spiral hairspring, olive-jeweled ruby bearing jewels, and the essential elements of the components that he utilizes in his products – making them within his own four walls. All the finishing, assembly, and regulating are done in-house. Voutilainen remains the sole judge of the work of his fourteen employees and the only one that can realize all the operations needed for making an entire watch.
And if Voutilainen did not return to his country of origin, otherwise a known training ground for watchmakers, it is because he found what he needed in Switzerland in addition to a quality of living that he strongly appreciates. Proximity to the network of suppliers and Geneva as a perfect place to meet with his clientele finally persuaded this fan of skiing to set his course right here.
VELOPTUOUS TIMES - dossier
