The New and Superb Voutilainen KV20i Reversed

Five years ago, Kari Vouitilainen‘s atelier unveiled an exciting evolution of the brand’s signature time-only Vingt-8 series, the Voutilainen 28TI model with an inverted calibre. The 28TI (Titanium Inverse) watch, with its sumptuous detailing and delicate decoration, brought to the fore movement components that were previously visible through the sapphire caseback, allowing an impressive display of the beautifully constructed and finished calibre on the dial side, with the oversized balance wheel and its long polished bridge on the upper left. The KV20i is a successor to the now discontinued 28TI, with a few notable changes, but no less striking and still leading in the genre.

The new Voutilainen KV20i Reversed is available in titanium, platinum, gold (white or pink) or stainless steel case, in-house made, measuring 39mm in diameter. The polished case has a familiar shape with its concave bezel, distinctive tear-drop lugs, and caseback held by six custom screws, with sapphire crystals front and back featuring an anti-reflective treatment. All classic Voutilainen…

The open dial showcases the new KV20i calibre, designed, manufactured, assembled, and finished at the Voutilainen workshops. A blue, gold dotted minutes ring bearing the watchmaker’s name encircles the periphery, while hallmark central hour and minute hands crafted from gold facilitate easy time-reading.

Comparing the KV20i to the previous 28TI, the movement with the hand-decorated main plate and bridges, made from German silver, appears slightly rotated clockwise. The large 13.5mm diameter free-sprung balance wheel, equipped with rose gold timing weights, the exterior of the spring with a Phillips overcoil and Grossmann interior curve, along with the signature direct impulse escapement featuring two large blued escape wheels (a rare and complex configuration), is now positioned closer to the 12 o’clock mark. This configuration includes a single-arm balance-wheel bridge, replacing the mirror-polished two-arm bridge of the 28TI. The screw tops, the flat wheels and the pinions exhibit a polished finish, with all components presented with typical Voutilainen attention to detail.

Turning the watch over reveals a more streamlined design and showcases the same high level of finishing as the dial, although the movement’s functions omit the power reserve indicator found on the 28TI. The movement is framed by a screwed blued ring, with the blue ring dial marked for the running seconds repositioned to the right at the 1 o’clock mark, slightly overlapping. This dial ring can be customised with a guilloche pattern decoration at the customer’s request. The openings reveal perlage on the plate and various finishing techniques applied to the visible components. While the KV20i may appear “simpler” than its predecessor, it boasts immense appeal typical of Kari Voutilainen’s creations. The manually wound KV20i operates at 18,000 vibrations per hour and has a 60-hour power reserve.

The new Voutilainen KV20i Reversed comes with a hand-sewn crocodile leather strap. The steel case variant costs CHF 118,800, the white gold and platinum version are CHF 124,800, and the rose gold version is CHF 121,600 (all prices exclude VAT). For more details, visit voutilainen.ch.