The category of modern independent watchmaking covers a wide range of players, from avant-garde brands that push the boundaries of design and mechanical expression to artisans who practice centuries of watchmaking craft in their ateliers. One name is persistently present throughout every permutation of the modern independent watchmaking category – a watchmaker with an eponymous brand and traditional atelier d’horlogerie, whose work is also associated with one of the best-known “indie” brands, and who began his professional career with a significant standalone Swiss Manufacture. That man is Kari Voutilainen.
Born in Finland in 1962, Voutilainen received his early horological education at the Tapiola watchmaking school before completing an advanced course in complicated watches at the renowned Swiss institute, Watchmakers of Switzerland Training and Educational Program (WOSTEP). After gaining experience in the restoration department of Parmigiani Fleurier, Voutilainen returned to WOSTEP to teach, signalling a desire to transmit expertise and knowledge – a desire that has defined his career since. His epon- ymous company, based in Môtiers, presented its first creation at Baselworld in 2005, and Voutilainen’s watches have become synonymous with high-end finishes, featuring a characteristic soft yet incandescent glow that has captivated watch lovers all over the world. Voutilainen’s signature timepiece, the Vingt-8, has won numerous industry acco- lades, including multiple trophies from the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG). Connoisseurs of technical watchmaking have particular praise for his proprietary escapement, a version of Breguet’s double direct-impulse échappement naturel. Since 2011, Voutilainen has lent his talent to cult-favourite brand MB&F, driving the standards of magnificent hand-finishing as seen in their Legacy Machine collection.
His dial factory in the Val-de-Travers region of Switzerland, Comblémine, supplies exceptional dials adorned with hand-applied guillochage to a variety of companies ranging from fellow independent watchmakers Grönefeld to La Chaux-de-Fonds-based Schwarz Etienne.
*On the occasion of GMT Magazine and WorldTempus' 20th anniversary, we have embarked on the ambitious project of summarising the last 20 years in watchmaking in The Millennium Watch Book, a big, beautifully laid out coffee table book. This article is an extract. The Millennium Watch Book is available on www.the-watch-book.com, in French and English, with a 10% discount if you use the following code: WT2021.
