Welcome to Watch Guy Watches, GQ’s monthly curation of high-end timepieces for the true watch nerds among us. This June, we’re witnessing the revival of a famous Louis Vuitton collection, the genesis of a high-speed TAG Heuer racing watch, the evolution of a wildly complicated MB&F chronograph, and the birth of a ludicrously luminous Panerai.
In the second decade of the 20th century, Cartier introduced the Tank, a timepiece that would become synonymous with the term “dress watch.” Roughly 15 years later, in the early 1930s, Patek Philippe debuted its own dress watch—a simple, round model devoid of the maison’s typical complications—which it called the Calatrava. In the intervening century, these two models have set the bar for beautiful, pared-down, time-only watches designed to be worn with formalwear. And while other dress watches have hit the market with varying degrees of success, none has reached the dizzying heights of popularity or ubiquity to which the Tank and Calatrava have soared.
Compelling as these two models are, however, it could be argued that the 21st century needs its own dress watch—something elegant and refined, to be sure, but also decidedly modern and elevated. This month, Louis Vuitton’s watchmaking division introduced a new version of the Escale, its unique travel watch from 2014, repurposing the name in the form of a 39-millimeter, precious-metal timepiece with an automatic, micro-rotor movement built by La Fabrique du Temps and Le Cercle de Horlogers. Could this be the contemporary dress watch of the new century—the one that becomes horological lore for generations to come?
Louis Vuitton Escale
Following Louis Vuitton’s acquisition of movement manufacture La Fabriques du Temps in 2011, the company got to work revamping its watchmaking program with its sights set firmly on haute horlogerie. In 2014, it debuted the Escale Worldtime, a unique take on that traveler’s complication featuring a wildly colorful, hand-painted dial. Now, the Escale has been reconsidered as a high-end dress watch—sort of an elegant companion to the brand’s sportier Tambour. Available initially in four references, each features a precious metal case, a time-only dial, and a slim, automatic movement with micro-rotor for automatic winding.
To paraphrase the Haggadah, “What makes this watch different from any other (dress) watch?” Well, to be fair, it still retains many “dress watch” cues: It’s got a relatively straightforward display with only the time as told via a pretty alpha handset; its case is thin, at just 10.3 millimeters; it’s fashioned from precious metal; and it’s paired to a simple leather strap. But take a closer look, and you’ll notice certain touches inspired by Louis Vuitton’s history as a trunk maker. The way the lugs meet the case, for example, recalls the brackets on one of the company’s famous pieces of luggage; ditto for the “rivets” connecting the outer minute track with the inner dial in contrasting finish. And the stippled finish found on the rose gold-cased dials? It references the surface on monogrammed Louis Vuitton canvas.
On the platinum-cased versions of the Escale, you have your choice of a black tuxedo dial (paired with a baguette-cut diamond bezel) or a Gibeon meteorite dial; on the rose gold versions, the aforementioned textured silver or blue. Dial furniture is applied gold in a case-matching color, and each case features a signed, octagonal crown and a sapphire case back. Within this caseback is the LFT023 from La Fabrique du Temps, a time-only, automatic caliber powered by a micro-rotor and chronometer certified via the Geneva Observatory. Finished with frosting, perlage, and other contrasting techniques, it’s a handsome mechanical engine that’s sure to excite fans of the brand.
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