The dial is supremely legible with applied Roman numerals. Voutilainen understands something that I wish more watchmakers would pick up. The finishing on the hour markers is brushed, not polished. Polished elements on dials are frequently the enemy of legibility. Voutilainen knows that a watch dial is not the place for reflective surfaces and the readability surely benefits. This is something for everyone out there who is making watches to learn.

This Piece Unique watch is in a 42mm wide case made from 18k white gold with the brand’s trademark “tear drop” lugs. This is actually among the larger watches that Voutilainen has produced and is very wearable. Most of Kari’s watches are in the 38-40mm wide range. The rear of the case opens up “hunter style” to reveal a view of the movement. The case back is fully engraved with seven naked women. As I mentioned earlier I have a feeling that these are once again the “seven daughters of atlas” from Greek mythology.

I am not sure if Voutilainen himself or someone under his employ does his engraving work, but it is always top notch. Some of the best for sure. I see a lot of luxury watches with engravings on them, and some are sadly terrible. When it comes to engraving people or other life-like images there are often problems with proportions and nothing ends up looking right. While it is almost impossible to offer a purely life-like depiction of a human while doing a miniature engraving, these are pretty good. That also goes for what I have seen on other Voutilainen watches. If the faces of the the ladies look a bit odd, it is because they are meant to look a bit stylized. I am not clear what the reference art is.

For many collectors something like this from Voutilainen is pretty much heaven. A hand-made rare type of minute repeater with a ton of unique artistic elements and it is a limited edition just for you. How can it get better than that? Kari himself is a very nice guy who does what he is supposed to do, and that is make watches. While he does travel the collector circuit like everyone else, I think Kari likes to spend most of his time making watches – as he should. Price for this piece is $497,000. voutilainen.ch