Independents

I am turning around KV watches like a Shark does with a surfer... I'm still wondering when I attack!



More seriously, this is a true question. Which movement, the Peseux, or the in house?

I'm not familar enough with KV watches, so I will just give you my " intuitive " opinion, here.

I love both of them, so I wouldn't mind picking any of them, truly.

Maybe I feel more confident with the Peseux, because any good watchmaker can service it, will have the parts for it, when things may be more complicated with a confidential in house movement.

On the other side, if I already owned a watch with a Peseux inside, I would rather go on the in house " Vingt 8 ".

I really have miexed feelings, here.

Curious to read what the others think.

Best,

Nicolas.

And Nico have provided a great answer! You can't go wrong with either one. This message has been edited by sidneyc on 2011-11-02 02:32:53

I beg your pardon but can someone please explain to me which one is more "limited"?

Here's a couple of pics for you of pieces I have had the fortune to handle ...

the Vingt-8 in WG with navy blue dial was in LV at IGOTT2 when Kari made an appearance there. The accompanying platinum Observatoire was kindly shared by a fellow purist as a comparison, Thanks Tahoe Blue!!! The Vingt-8 is more more limited in that Kari is just starting production and his ability to only make so few watches per year, so it will take a while for his production to catch up with production of the now finished Observatoire series. I don't know exact numbers of the Observatoire production run, others may know. I suspect it might be around 150 pieces??? Please someone correct this if i'm off significantly... The Vingt-8 being limited production will eventually catch up to these production numbers and possibly/probably surpass it if Kari deems it what he wants to do. I would suspect he will continue production for many years to come, as the response seems to be so positive. Here we have the Vingt-8 side by side with a stunning execution of the Observatoire cased in platinum:

Cheers, Tim

There has been much speculation, also on this very forum, about the total number of Observatoire made by Voutilainen. I believe it to be closer to 60 and, in any case, much lower than 150. I recall that Gary attempted to make some form of census, maybe he can cast some light on this issue. It is fair to say that Voutilainens atelier has expanded somewhat since he won the the Grand Prix de Geneve for his Observatoire. When visiting his workshop in early 2008, I counted 3-4 assistant watchmakers. I think I have read somewhere that he now has some 13 employees. We can therefore expect a bigger output then say 3 to 4 years ago. We are still very far from the numbers produced by the most select 'brands'.
I had the chance to buy an Observatoire and have never regretted it. If I hadn't, I wouldn't hesitate a second ordering my very own vingt-8, a watch that shares many of the qualities of the Observatoire, yet with its very own strong personality and qualities. Ken's excellent article on Kari's visit to Tokyo of late draws attention to both obvious and other much more subtle design improvements of the vingt-8 line.
Best
Ztirual

That is one of the beauties of this amazing virtual world we exist in here. Lot's of very knowledgeable folk with pertinent and accurate data!
Cheers,
Tim

...so sayeth The Man Himself.

My census has long been stalled by personal sloth and reticence on the part of very many owners, but my sense is that this is about right.

Certainly not anything remotely like 150.

Sitting poolside in Hawaii on a well earned (believe me) vacation with my wife -- doing two fingered typing on the pad. Will comment at greater length later, but the short answer is that the Observatoire rules...

Best,

Gary

it is a tough call, perhaps with no right answer, but your short answer is correct.

thanks for your input and for confirming my impression about the total number of Observatoires.
Enjoy your holiday break in Hawai.


best
Ztirual

Enjoy the lovely Hawaiian weather with the Mrs. & best wishes to her.
Thank you too for the clarification, your indepth knowledge of most things KV is a great bonus.
Cheers,
Tim

...at that balance bridge and it's all over! -

 

[photo from KV website]

(Disclosure: written as a highly impressionable but deliriously contented Observatoire custodian with very shallow horological motivations...)

 

Cheers,

pplater.

I am grateful for all the comments received on this thought intriguing discussion.  While all information is valuable, guess what, I'm still undecided!  Sometimes the decision process is much more interesting than the acquisition itself.

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