Lately as my taste in watches continues to go further off the beaten path, I’ve started taking notice of a number of independent watchmakers that produce exquisitely crafted timepieces, making use of the finest movements, and the most demanding finishing techniques. With that said, there is a catch. While these individuals are indeed delivering a piece which numerous hours have been spent adding rarely seen details, harkening back to an older time in the history of watchmaking, the movements that their watches are driven by are not their own, and often sourced from vintage watches. After learning more and more about these small scale manufactures, and taking notice of the sizeable price tags that they’re commonly accompanied by, I found that I was asking myself and others one question repeatedly, in search of an opinion with a sound reasoning. Are these watches really worth it? This is when Kari Voutilainen’s Observatoire came to mind, and a late night passion-fuelled research frenzy began.
To be perfectly honest, I was at first curious what exactly it was that collectors saw in this piece, and couldn’t fully comprehend the significance of the Obervatoire and other watches like it. As with anything, forming opinions without a considerable background understanding can be foolish, so I did my homework, spoke with a few knowledgable and generous individuals to gain insight, and have now gained a better understanding on the matter. Through shifting my perspective, my eyes have been opened, and I must say that I’ve looked at this category of haute horology incorrectly for most of time as a collector. Now, please allow me to share my findings with you.
Mr. Voutilainen at the bench.
For starters, it’s important to begin with knowing that Kari Voutilainen is widely regarded as one of the great watchmakers of our time, and that his watches do not exclusively feature re-worked vintage calibers. In 2011, Voutilainen released the “Twenty-8”, and although it may appear to be nearly identical to the Observatoire, inside beats his Cal. 28 movement, which was designed and manufactured entirely in-house, along with many other movements of his. In piece’s like his heralded Observatoire, Kari has taken a solid and highly acclaimed movement known as the Peseux 260 and reworked it to his high standards, yielding a beautiful watch in more than one respect.
Back when the development of observatory chronometers and occurrence of precision timing competitions in Geneve and Neuchatel were in effect, the Peseux 260 was introduced purely for research purposes. This ebauche made by Peseux was supplied to a number of different manufactures and independent “adjusteurs” simply as a starting point for their competition entries. Because of this, it is said that watches bearing the 260 were never made available to the public consumer, and that just 3300 examples of the ebauche movement were ever manufactured, though a small number of unsold, “NOS”, 260 movements have been found over the years, which explains their use in pieces like the Observatoire.
A spartanly finished Peseux 260 – Photo courtesy of SteveG.
Once in possession of these movements, Kari has devoted an obscene amount of time to finishing the 260 in way that is uniquely his own. Depending on the particular example, Voutilainen’s purely aesthetic modifications to the calibers include finishing the caliber’s plates with Geneva stripes, frosting, anglage, and perlage, in addition to the use of platinum screws. All of this gives a remarkably handsome facelift to a movement which is quite well proportioned and visually pleasing to begin with.
A Voutilainen re-worked Peseux 260 for use in the Observatoire.
Where this piece starts to challenge conventions and display Voutilainen’s true mastery of watchmaking, is through the mechanical modifications made to these already impressive calibers, many of which increase the degree of precision and accuracy at which the movement performs. In these watches, a strategically engineered balance spring has been created, that has been formed in two distinct ways. According to a more technically inclined source, the exterior of the spring is fashioned like a Breguet overcoil, and the “internal curve” of the balance spring is known as a “Grosmann curve”, in that it is formed slightly differently, with the same care and attention to detail that is given to forming the exterior of the spring. This technique takes its name from the teachings of a man by the name of Grosmann, who once taught many years ago at one of the early watchmaking schools in Le Locle. From this, we are shown that Mr. Voutilainen’s understanding of micro-mechanics is so extensive, that he is able to understand the workings of a caliber on a deeper level, and is skilled to the point where he can identify ways in which a movement can be improved significantly.
A macro shot of the Observatoire’s custom balance spring. Photo courtesy of friend of the site and Instagrammer, @doobooloo.
After embarking on this horological research journey of sorts, I can surely say that I’ve come away with a different point of view, and that my stance on watches like this has changed drastically. What has become most apparent to me, is that it would be frankly insulting to simply write a piece like the Voutilainen Observatoire off as just another watch making use of an embellished, tried and true movement, when in reality, it is a wonderfully crafted masterpiece that speaks volumes of Kari’s expertise and years of experience in the realm of fine watchmaking.
Featured photo courtesy of WatchProSite member “Alex”.
by 
Ian
Oddly enough, I went on a Kari Voutilainen Observatory internet research spree last night, which had me concluding that this was far more special and far more worthy of my desire than any complicated piece made by one of the grand manufacturers. Let them keep their tourbillons, repeaters, and perpetual calendar chronographs! I’ll take one of these.