The New Louis Vuitton Escale Malachite and Turquoise, With Stone Dials and Cases

It’s worth recalling that Louis Vuitton, the colossal French luxury emporium, was forged on luggage and steamer trunks. Appointed trunk-maker to Napoleon III’s wife, Louis Vuitton (1821-1892) struck gold with his invention of the flat-topped stackable traveller’s trunk. Since then, the brand has been consistently associated with the Art of Travel, a theme that extends to its watchmaking division, particularly with the Escale collection. Originally equipped with a sophisticated world time complication, the Escale was extensively revisited last year as part of LV’s new watchmaking strategy and is now the brand’s classic, round, time-only, compact unisex watch with design references to LV’s iconic trunks. The latest stopover on the Escale’s journey is the release of two limited editions with vibrant stone dials in malachite and turquoise and, most unusually, stone case middles with protective platinum elements.

Working with ornamental stones starts with the selection process. For the Escale, the turquoise had to comply with a specific range of blue hues and feature well-distributed dark veins, and only certain shades of green were accepted for the malachite. Not the hardest stones, great care is required to cut the extremely precise tolerances required for the dials. La Fabrique des Boîtiers, the case-making atelier of La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton, was tasked with machining the monolithic stone ring for the case, which necessitated a new set of case-milling techniques.

Only 1mm wider than the regular 39mm Escale models, the cases have a diameter of 40mm. Given the somewhat brittle properties of the stones employed on the dial and case, the Escale’s trunk-inspired elements, crafted in platinum, are put to good use. Like the riveted brass brackets that protect the corners of LV’s iconic trunks, the angled and riveted lugs of the Escale Malachite and Escale Turquoise protect parts of the case’s middle. Additionally, the overhanging platinum bezel and caseback shield the curved malachite and turquoise from accidental knocks and blows. Beautifully finished with brushed surfaces and polished bevels and studs, the platinum lugs flank the large LV-engraved octagonal crown.

Framing the stone dial is a circular-brushed minutes track with polished studs. The Louis Vuitton Escale Malachite (photographed) and the Escale Turquoise models both feature white gold minute studs, riveted bracket hour markers, dauphine hands and a slightly bent titanium central seconds hand to negotiate the contours of the dial.

Sharing the same micro-rotor movement found in the new Tambour, the LFT023 automatic calibre has been slightly modified to accommodate the central seconds. Designed, conceived and encased by La Fabrique du Temps and manufactured by Le Cercle des Horlogers, the 4Hz movement delivers a 50-hour power reserve and is COSC chronometer-certified. Decorative flourishes include the engraved 22k gold micro-rotor, the monogram flower-shaped barrel, the sandblasted bridges with diamond-polished bevels and the circular-grained mainplate. The engraved plaque on the caseback announces the limited edition status of the watch: 1 of 30.

Paired with textured Saffiano leather straps – warm Arroyo grey for the turquoise and Rainforest green for the malachite – both come with a platinum pin buckle. Limited to 30 pieces per stone, we await confirmation of the price of these new Louis Vuitton Escale Malachite and Escale Turquoise.

For more information, please visit louisvuitton.com.