Kari Voutilainen followed the tried-and-true path for modern independent makers – learning his craft at the restoration house of Michel Parmigiani after graduating from watchmaking school – before taking on a teaching role at the Watchmakers of Switzerland Training and Educational Program. His next step was to establish himself as an independent watchmaker, something he has managed to do with a degree of success seldom seen in this segment of the market.
First produced in 2011, the Vingt-8 has gone on to become the backbone of the Finnish watchmaker’s catalogue of offerings. This 39mm case, forged from titanium, features a three-part case construction. While titanium is rarely seen in Voutilainen's work, a number of the first few watches produced in series for the first time featured uniform grey dials. This example breaks away, in a grey and white tuxedo-style dia. The bezel around the display caseback is flatter, with a groove around the well-proportioned crown to make it easier to engage it and set the time. The crown itself is set with a sapphire cabochon, a trait that has only appeared on a small number Voutilainen's watches, most notably some of Masterpiece Chronograph series, along with other unique pieces.
At first glance, the dial appears conventional, according to how many of us have come to know the Vingt-8. However, it was unusually made as a two-part construction, owing to the difficulty in producing two opposing colour treatments on the same dial, to achieve the desired two-tone effect. The result is something more visually complex, both in contrast and technicality, with the latter evident when comparing the dial more closely to others produced by Voutilainen.
The dial features two main guilloché patterns, all machine turned by hand. The hour markers, both of the Arabic numeral and baton variety, are applied on a deep grey ring that bears a hobnail pattern. Outside sits a satiné circulaire chapter of minutes, with the plots corresponding to the hour markers as well as Arabic numerals at 3, 9, and 12 o'clock to improve readability. The centre of the dial is in white, and wears a deep, basket-weave guilloché, that gives the appearance of a textured chequerboard. The subsidiary seconds register features a hobnail guilloché pattern in the centre. Mirroring the layout of the dial, the seconds register also features a satiné circulaire chapter of printed minutes.
On display is the calibre 28, a movement developed entirely in-house and regulated by the double-wheel escapement, another Voutilainen calling card. It features a free-sprung balance with Breguet overcoil, a Grossmann interior curve, and direct impulse escapement with two large escapement wheels. Not only is it highly engineered, it is also beautifully hand-finished. The plates are decorated with the Côtes de Geneve, while the visible wheels wear a range of finishes – from black polished to radial brushed. The edges of the bridges feature anglage and the balance is beautifully black polished. The calibre is multi-layered in its arrangement, something that gives it visual depth. Screwed on plaques wear the brand mark as well as the serial number.
The hands, true to the Voutilainen aesthetic, are of the observatoire variety. They feature a high contrast, frosted silver finish, with heat-blued inserts in the hours and minutes hands. The seconds hand is a simple baton with a prominent circular counter weight. The watch is in especially good condition, and comes as a complete set, with all requisite paperwork and box it was retailed with.
