„Guy´s Eclectic Choice of The Week”: Louis Vuitton – Escale Worldtime Minute Repeater
Photographer Guy Lucas de Peslouan shares his images and thoughts on the Louis Vuitton ´Escale Worldtime Minute Repeater` - plus some context by “the eclecticum”
A few thoughts by Guy:
The Louis Vuitton Worldtime Minute Repeater was created by two master watchmakers, Enrico Barbasini and Michel Navas, from « La Fabrique du Temps ». The duo already completed a few collaborations with Louis Vuitton, now they came back with a high-end version of the classique Worldtime by Louis Vuitton.
With the central pyramid design, the dusty coloured, desert-inspired palette, and the hand painted “flags” that encircle the dial, all colours explode and reveal this fantastic and aesthetic dial. 
The absence of hands, replaced by rotating discs, means that the sapphire is unnaturally close to the dial. This creates an incredibly dense appearance. The movement allows the wearer to sound the time in his home time-zone regardless of the time-zone that the watch is currently displaying, should they desire.
The minute repeater is tied to your home time and is set by aligning your home city to the yellow arrow, which is painted on the underside of the crystal and extends from the tip of the pyramid.
Additional context by the eclecticum:
´Fashion` it is called, at least on the first view.
In fact, it is a colourful ´Grand Complication` that brings together the Worldtime and the Minute Repeater complications which is rare to say the least. The dial is a masterpiece on its own – almost like a (hand painted!) miniature oil painting with 38 (vibrant) colours – with a unique presentation of multiple time zones at once. It´s easy on the eye – almost like a ´fashion toy` but indeed represents advanced technical solutions and is convenient to use. The time zones (24 cities) can be adjusted with the push of a button within the crown. The minute repeater gets activated by a nicely designed slide on the side of the case and will chime your ´home time`.
The movement is composed of 447 parts and represents their master minds behind the watch very well – style and technical solutions. As already mentioned by Guy it´s the gifted watchmaking duo Barbasini/Navas, once more. We already wrote about them here: https://www.theeclecticum.com/guys-eclectic-choice-of-the-week-laurent-ferrier-galet-classic-tourbillon-double-spiral/
This is no surprise as their company ´La Fabrique du Temps` was acquired by Louis Vuitton in 2011.
The 44 mm diameter case made of titanium (which has acoustically advantageous properties) and pink gold shouldn´t be too heavy on the wrist and because of the (relatively) low height even comfortable and easy to wear. As there are no hands (rotating discs instead), no additional space is needed and that helps a lot regarding the (low) height of the case. 
´Steam Punk` comes to our mind when we look at the case – side view – and we like it, therefore. The design approach represents the DNA of Louis Vuitton very well, doesn´t it?
Honestly, it took us some time until we ‘got it’ because of being distracted by the vibrant colours on the face of the watch – it’s a purposely distracting watch, and it plays with the psyche of the wearer. On the wrist it may be easier to understand, that the case is a strong part of the watch to make it special and tempting.
Conclusion: we like it for what it is ´a playful grand complication that doesn´t take itself too seriously`. It´s something nice for eclectic people with a good sense of humour (and deep pockets as well). It´s (much) more than just fun, but it makes you smile!
the eclecticum
More “Guy´s Eclectic Choices of The Week” you will find here, every Monday.
Guy Lucas de Peslouan
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