Not all images were able to load for printing. Please close the print window and try again. The Classic Spirit of the Voutilainen 216TMZ Worldtime
Returning to a more traditional round case, the latest world time watch is a refined example of Voutilainen’s aesthetic and mechanical prowess.
Independent Finnish master watchmaker Kari Voutilainen is regarded as one of the best in his field. Working from his atelier in Motiers, which he founded in 2002, Voutilainen is known for his high-end watches with in-house movements and hand-guilloché dials. His latest watch, the 216TMZ Worldtime, features a movement with a direct-impulse double escapement, first seen on the CSW Worldtime model of 2023, and a gorgeous blue dial decorated with guillochage. Returning to a more classical round shape, the steel 216TMZ Worldtime displays the time in 24 zones, is built with user-friendliness in mind, and is partially customisable.
True to the Finn’s design language, the 39mm stainless steel world time watch adopts his signature round case style with elegant teardrop-shaped lugs. Gleaming polished finishes highlight the rotundity of the case and lugs, and the sapphire crystals front and back reveal the exquisite guilloché work of the dial and the large in-house manual-winding movement.
Adopting the standard Louis Cottier display for the world time complication with a peripheral rotating city ring, the grey-coloured city disc can be advanced by pushing the crown. Local time is indicated by the central hour and minute hands, and the reference city selected is displayed at noon, with the time in 23 other cities visible simultaneously on the 24-hour disc with its two-tone beige and black day/night indicator.
Marking it as an original Voutilainen watch, the blue central area of the dial is beautifully decorated with hand-guilloché patterns. Like Abraham-Louis Breguet, Voutilainen uses guillochage as a functional and aesthetic element. Having acquired the historical Comblémine dial manufacture, Voutilainen owns antique hand-operated rose engines and lathes.
The hand-guilloché chapter ring, bearing gold indices and Breguet-style Arabic numerals at 12, 3, 6 and 9 o’clock, features a concentric pattern, while the central disc is decorated with a classic wave pattern. The white gold hour and minute hands with blued steel hollowed tips, also styled like Breguet’s hands, are handcrafted.
The watch is powered by the calibre 216TMZ, an in-house manual-winding movement with a fully integrated world time complication and two escapement wheels. The double escapement provides a direct impulse to the balance and requires less energy than a classic Swiss lever escapement, improving stability and delivering a longer power reserve, in this case of 65 hours. In the name of accuracy, the large in-house 13.5mm balance wheel beating at 18,000vph enables regulation to strict tolerances and is coupled with a unique balance spring system composed of an exterior Phillips overcoil and an internal Grossmann curve.
Beautifully finished, the German silver mainplate and bridges are hand-decorated with wide bevels and sharp internal angles, while the pinions and solid rose gold wheels are flat and polished.
A beautiful-looking and beautifully finished Voutilainen watch with a world time complication, the 216TMZ is paired with an elegant grey crocodile strap. As mentioned, certain features, such as the city disc and dial, can be customised. The watch retails for CHF 183,500 (excl. tax). More information at voutilainen.ch.
