Escale Time Zone

Louis Vuitton presents an even more refined variation of the Escale Time Zone watch, which was first unveiled in 2015.
As a contemporary interpretation of timepieces used by globe-trotters, this watch made of pink gold (bezel, horns, crown) and steel (case) offers the possibility of viewing the time in the 24 time zones in an original and totally intuitive manner, and offers a new take on the GMT function and watch movements designed for today’s explorers.

As a designer of items for travel and for life, Louis Vuitton loves to play around with the symbolism of its inimitable trunks, which are essential accessories for the modern traveller, who cross the world with elegance and refinement.

A multicoloured dial with an unforgettable design

The dial on the Escale Time Zone watch is based on the geometric and colourful motifs which have always enabled Louis Vuitton customers to personalise their trunks. Bands of colours, crests, initials and other geometric pictograms have been printed on the dial in the true tradition of craftsmanship.

This process involves transferring the paint - contained in the hollow of a pattern - onto the dial, using a silicone-coated rubber stamp by hand, colour after colour. This guarantees a precise marking suited to all shapes and graphic designs.

Positioned at the centre of the sapphire crystal, a disc with understated stripes and carrying the Louis Vuitton Time Zone inscription echoes the stylised shape of a globe. A delicate minutes hand and a small triangle positioned on an invisible disc dedicated to displaying the local time stand out from this this circle.

A playful travel complication

A classic GMT function displays the time in a second time zone thanks to an additional hand or an aperture dedicated to this function. The Escale Time Zone watch displays the time - instantly - in the 24 time zones defined by Sir Stanford Fleming and ratified by the International Meridian Conference of 1884.

The master watchmakers of La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton have therefore created a new travel complication that is easy to use, universally understandable and playful. The rim of the dial shows the cities’ initials laid out in two rows and presented in colour.

A 24-hour disk, which is directly adjustable by the crown, can be used to modify the reference time opposite the name of the desired city, and therefore all the others. At the centre, the local time is displayed in the traditional way using the triangle-shaped hour indicator that rotates on a central disk and a minute hand.

A “two-tone” case with timeless lines

With its steel and pink gold base, the Escale Time Zone watch recalls both the world of contemporary watchmaking and the great voyages of yesteryear.

Its brushed steel case holds four lugs in polished pink gold, which echo the very specific shape of Louis Vuitton trunk corners and immediately inspire its wearer to set out on a journey. Its signed octagonal crown and elegant bezel is also adorned with pink gold. The complete picture is a new, unique and elegant version of the Escale Time Zone.

Featuring a 39 mm diameter, the Escale Time Zone cuts a slender figure with a thickness of 8.4 mm. It also makes the dial beautiful to open with the finesse of its pink gold bezel, which gives optimal time display in 24 time zones. With its sapphire crystal, the base of the dial houses an aluminium disc coupled with an oscillating mass, which turns precisely around a large LV.
Unique in its functions and original in its design, the Escale Time Zone watch transfers Louis Vuitton’s passion for travel by drawing inspiration from its lines and functions in the history of the House and its famous trunks.