The hybrid beauty of cases

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The hybrid beauty of cases - Louis Vuitton
Almost a cushion, while evoking a subtly rounded square: the case shape of the two latest Louis Vuitton timepieces defies clear-cut categorisation and definitely deserves a closer look.

The conventional habit of classifying watch cases into distinctly round, square, rectangular, tonneau or cushion shapes is revealing its limitations as watches are becoming more sophisticated. Especially since these terms apply to the designs viewed flat, whereas watchmaking is in fact all about volumes and its personality definitely lies in this third dimension. The case of Louis Vuitton’s Voyager watch, also used in the Flying Tourbillon “Poinçon de Genève”, is a perfect example of this reality.

Louis-Vuitton-voyager Viewed flat, it could be summed up as a cross between a circle and a square, yet such an assessment is far from reflecting the truth. It should be pointed out that Louis Vuitton has never produced watches with traditional or obvious shapes. The brand consistently takes aesthetic options that make its models stand out from the crowd and this one is certainly a “case” in point...

First and foremost, the circle and the square are already combined in a variety of ways, as expressed through various “TV” and cushion shapes as well as their many interpretations. While the dial of the Voyager and the satin-brushed bezel surrounding it are both round, its stature is broader in certain places, along two crossed axes, thereby stretching the overall shape in a unique way. It has borrowed from the square these excrescences that could almost have become angled corners, but are instead gently curved.

Closer scrutiny reveals that the very essence of the subtle Voyager case lies in the shape of its caseband. This large ribbon framing it wends its way up and down, leaning this way or that and undulating according to a trajectory bearing no specific name and not fitting neatly into any particular pigeon-hole. It is perfectly polished except at 3 and 9 o’clock, where it sweeps up to meet the bezel. This slightly concave element almost literally catches and holds the uniquely luminous appeal of this case.

Nonetheless, even the caseband is upstaged by the extremely short and narrow lugs protruding beyond it at 12 and 6 o’clock. The strap of the Voyager is therefore very small compared with the overall 41 mm diameter of the watch. That makes it very easy to wear on any wrist size, since the strap (and not the lugs) is responsible for moulding the wearer’s arm.Louis-Vuitton-Poinçon-de-Genève.jpg

Finally, one should not lose sight of the fact that a watch is also often also observed from below, especially when it has such a spectacular movement as that of the Flying Tourbillon “Poinçon de Genève”. After examining the finely openworked intricacies of Calibre LV104 from every angle, one may also choose to admire it through the transparent caseback. Without the volume effect provided by the bezel, this vantage point affords an easy chance to grasp the overall, almost flat shape of this case. And yet this very possibility confirms that, although such a perspective sums up its formal design, it nonetheless fails to reveal the rich aesthetic subtlety that positions the Voyager resolutely in a league of its own.

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