Louis Vuitton expands the Escale line with a pair of limited editions featuring turquoise and malachite stone dials – and unusually, matching stone mid-cases. By integrating the case band in the same material as the dial, the brand elevates the familiar Escale silhouette into something more sculptural, while retaining the signature riveted form inspired by its historic trunks.

The result is one of the more distinctive takes on the current stone-dial trend. The platinum-and-titanium construction allows for a double-walled case with a stone ring on the outside, giving the watch proper water resistance, while the larger 40 mm case creates space for colour and texture to shine. With only 30 pieces in each colourway, the editions reinforce Louis Vuitton’s ambition in high-end watchmaking.

Initial thoughts

This year has been a strong one for Louis Vuitton, an ambitious trunk maker seeking to prove itself as a serious watchmaker. It certainly has the industrial means to accomplish that through its control of Geneva-based La Fabrique du Temps and what is clearly a deep bench of design talent. The latest pair of Escales takes the stone dial trend to its logical next step: stone cases.

Thanks to the upscale construction, it avoids the trap of feeling gimmicky, unlike, say, the Tissot Rockwatch. The quality is outstanding which helps rationalise the steep price tag.

The distinctive construction of the Escale case makes it an almost ideal platform for the stone case band, so it is arguably disappointing that Louis Vuitton chose to limit both colourways to 30 watches each; the exclusivity helps reinforce the value proposition but it would have made an excellent addition to the brand’s regular catalogue.

A ring of stone

Louis Vuitton’s Escale line – French for “stopover” – takes after the Parisian malletier‘s famous trunks, with faux rivets mating the lugs to the case. The Escale case style is ideal for a watch like this, and the faux rivets on the case bands act as bumpers, protecting the stone insert.

The lugs connect to an inner titanium canister, which houses the movement. The platinum bezel and case back are screwed into the canister. The only hint of this multi-material construction is “Container Ti/PT950” engraving on the case back.

This double-case construction is common for hard and fragile materials, like natural stone. The Tissot Rockwatch also uses a metal inner ring to hold the movement and mount the case back and lugs to take the stress off of the mineral stone.

Due to the double-walled construction, the case is slightly larger at 40 mm than the standard Escale. Not big by any means, the extra size is welcome to show off more of the stone.

Many natural mineral stones are slightly porous, making them difficult to fully seal. This is why some stone-cased watches like the aforementioned Tissot lack water resistance.

But the Escale is constructed in a way that fully seals the movement in a metal container, so it’s water resistant to a proper 30 m. This is less than the 50 m of most Escales, but it’s plenty for a watch like this.

The dial follows the established Escale design language, with the addition of a turquoise or malachite centre. The hour and minute hands are white gold – as is expected at this price point – while the seconds hand is titanium to reduce its mass. Notably, this is not the first stone dial for the Escale; an onyx dial reference was launched last year with a case band paved in baguette diamonds.

Familiar micro-rotor

Inside is the self-winding LFT023, a proprietary movement made by Le Cercle des Horlogers (best known for its repeaters) with 50 hours of power reserve and a chronometer certification – charmingly from the Geneva Chronometric Observatory rather than the more mainstream COSC. The movement is familiar, being a centre-seconds version of the calibre that powers the new Tambour.

While not as high-end as some of the brand’s fully in-house calibres from La Fabrique du Temps, the LFT023 is quite attractive. The use of clear corundum jewels, rather than the usual purplish-red, results in a sleek monochromatic look that makes the 22k gold rotor and relief-engraved text stand out.

There’s also one other small pop of colour on the case back: a saffron-hued Sapphire in Louis Vuitton’s corporate colour. In much the same way that Patek Philippe uses a subtle diamond to denote its platinum cases, Louis Vuitton uses a discreet sapphire to distinguish platinum from white gold at a glance.

This practice originated in an era when platinum was more expensive than 18k white gold and was less commonly used than it is today. While platinum is more widely used than it once was for a variety of reasons (cost being one, but the overall growth and premiumisation of the market being another) the use of a stone to identify the platinum case feels pleasingly nostalgic.

Like the rest of Louis Vuitton’s high-end offerings, this is delivered in a mini trunk. Watch packaging is usually immaterial, but Louis Vuitton trunks have a cult-like following, and some collectors will see it as a substantial value-add. For reference, the Coffret Trésor 24 box (sans watch pillow) has an individual retail price of US$5,400.

Key specs and price

Louis Vuitton Escale
Ref. W3PTC1 (malachite)
Ref. W3PTB1 (turquoise)

Diameter: 40 mm
Height: 10.34 mm
Material: Platinum, titanium, and stone
Crystal: Sapphire
Water resistance: 30 m

Movement: LFT023
Features: Hours, minutes and seconds.
Frequency: 28,800 beats per hour (4 Hz)
Winding: Automatic
Power reserve: 50 hours

Strap: Saffiano leather with platinum pin buckle

Limited edition: 30 pieces each (60 total)
Availability: At Louis Vuitton boutiques
Price: US$64,500 (before taxes)

For more, visit Louisvuitton.com.

Audemars Piguet unveiled the unexpected at Dubai Watch Week: an intelligent watch winder created in collaboration with Dubai Future Labs. Designed specifically for the brand’s latest perpetual calendar calibre, the device uses computer vision, a motorised arm, and Bluetooth connectivity to wind the watch, read the dial, and set all calendar indications automatically. It’s a curious blend of haute horlogerie and consumer robotics.

Initial thoughts

Perpetual calendars have long bedeviled collectors and after-sales service departments alike. Often tedious to reset after non-use, they can break or bind if adjusted at the wrong time. In the past couple of decades, this problem has been largely solved by watchmakers like Dr. Ludwig Oechslin, Stephen McDonnell, Andreas Strehler, Greubel Forsey, F.P. Journe, and most recently by Audemars Piguet.

Given that Audemars Piguet is among the names that have developed a fool-proof perpetual calendar, the intelligent watch winder seems like a solution in search of a problem. The choice of the launch platform is also puzzling.

On one hand, I understand why Audemars Piguet would develop the winder for its new cal. 7138; it makes sense to promote the new product. But on the other hand, the box would be far more useful if it worked for the brand’s earlier generations of perpetual calendars, which are more liable to break from improper use and need to be adjusted using pushers in the case. There are also many more of them in circulation, and thus represent a larger addressable market.

The intelligent winder is not yet in production, so perhaps when it eventually debuts it will be able to accommodate other movements, but that remains to be seen.

Of course, the functionality is probably beside the point. It’s an interesting gadget, and for someone who’s just gotten the call to pick up their new Royal Oak perpetual calendar, it’s probably an easy upsell that gives the brand another touchpoint with its customers.

A robotic companion

Put simply, the intelligent winder is a Bluetooth-linked connected device with a built-in camera and a motorised arm capable of gripping the watch’s crown. With a little bit of computer vision and a check of the local time and date via Bluetooth, the machine is capable of manually winding the watch via its crown, reading the dial, and making all necessary adjustments in less than five minutes.

Audemars Piguet chief executive Ilaria Resta (extreme right) at Dubai Watch Week 2025. Image – Dubai Watch Week

The concept is not new — in some ways it’s a contemporary take on the sympathique concept developed by Breguet. The Ressence Type 2 and Urwerk AMC are other examples of how contemporary watchmakers have sought ways of simplifying winding and/or setting certain functions using some kind of external electronic application or apparatus.

But what the intelligent winder has going for it is that it can work with an existing watch, so long as it’s one of the supported references.

The machine was developed in collaboration with Dubai Future Labs, which is the robotics arm of the Dubai Future Foundation (DFF), a state-backed technology incubator that partners with private sector companies. While DFF is primarily focused on future-proofing the local economy, the collaboration with Audemars Piguet indicates it’s willing to look beyond its borders as well.

Key facts and price

Audemars Piguet x Dubai Future Foundation Intelligent Watch Winder

Diameter: 200 x 120 mm
Height: 150 mm
Material: Soft-touch plastic and metal

Compatible calibres: Cal. 7138
Functions: Winding and setting of select movements

Availability: Not yet confirmed
Price: Not yet confirmed

For more, visit Audemarspiguet.com.

Episode 20 of the SJX Podcast comes to you live from Dubai Watch Week 2025, which has just concluded. The event brought together many leading independent watchmakers, industry executives (including a rare appearance Rolex CEO Jean-Frédéric Dufour), and perhaps most importantly a big audience of collectors from around the world.

The new venue in Burj Park brought a more sophisticated feel to the event, which was by far the largest in its history. SJX and Brandon share their quick reactions on the final day of the fair. Note that given the recording environment, this episode has no video.

Listen on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.