Earlier this year we covered some new dial options that Kari Voutilainen launched for 2019. Today is another new ‘dial option’, so to speak, but one that is not about materials or decoration and the Comblémine dial workshop. In fact at first glance it looks like an entirely new model. It might be said that it is, in a way, but as the model name indicates, at its heart it is a variation on the Vingt-8.

In a first for Voutilainen much of the watch’s manually wound movement, taken from the Vingt-8 (wherein the large balance wheel is found in the top left corner), is now on the top as a part of the new in-house ‘dial’, with the escapement and balance now on the dial side.

Beating at 18,000VPH, the Vingt-8 movement utilises a direct impulse escapement designed by Voutilainen that requires less energy and has a power reserve of fifty hours. You can read about the technical aspects of this movement on his website.

Although the Vingt-8 calibre is the base, it obviously had to be reworked for the 28ti, and this new dial allows Voutilainen’s renowned movement finishing to be on full display. The German silver main plate and bridges are hand polished, the surfaces of the pinions and wheels flat and highly polished, and all the screws and steel parts are finished and polished by hand.

Running around the periphery of the watch is an hour and minute track, for which there are the distinctively Voutilianen Breguet-style hands. On the case back there is the unexpected presence of a running seconds display along with a power reserve indicator.

As is often the case when it comes to skeleton or similar dials, legibility of time telling is always going to be a factor to consider. For the 28ti, it is not just about this, but also about whether you prioritise being able to look at a Voutilainen movement or a Votilainen dial, face up.

The Voutilainen 28ti is limited to eight pieces in a 39mm titanium case made by Voutilainen & Cattin, and the price is 86,000 CHF (plus taxes).

Categories: Baselworld 2019, Kari Voutilainen, Limited Editions, SIHH 2019, Switzerland, Watch Profile, watches