Following the Louis Vuitton Watch Prize for Independent Creatives, Louis Vuitton is embarking on a series of collaborative timepieces with renowned independent watchmakers. For the first part of this voyage of discovery, the Paris-based Maison has joined forces with Rexhep Rexhepi, together creating the LVRR-01 Chronographe à Sonnerie: a double-faced chronograph embodying both brands’ DNA. The watch arose through a unique encounter between the different areas of expertise harboured within Atelier Akrivia and La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton.

Available in a limited-edition run of 10 pieces, the model features a movement that was developed from the ground up by Rexhep Rexhepi for this collaboration. The new, eminently traditional calibre is equipped with a double complication, integrated into a wristwatch for the first time in Louis Vuitton’s watchmaking history. Its chiming complication is powered by a tourbillon movement developed entirely by Rexhep Rexhepi. The watch’s complications double as a testimony to both watchmakers’ very first timepieces: Rexhep Rexhepi’s AKRIVIA AK-01, which incorporated both a chronograph and a tourbillon, and Tambour LV227, Louis Vuitton’s first High Watchmaking complication.

Hand-crafted by Master casemaker Jean-Pierre Hagmann, the iconic case – a seamless reinterpretation of Louis Vuitton’s Tambour watch – is translated into a classic platinum shape imbued with Rexhep Rexhepi’s stylistic touches.

The distinctive aesthetic codes of both Maisons are unmistakable on the two dials yet coherently integrated into a perfect whole. The tinted sapphire crystal on the front dial features six gold cubes filled with translucent, fired enamel – a technique known as plique-à-jour – and a unique logo encapsulating the fundamental concept of the LVRR-01. The emblem reveals itself to be a union of the two brand names, with “LV” subtly incorporated into “AKRIVIA.” In contrast, the white grand feu enamel of the reverse face – crafted by Nicolas Doublel, the in-house master enameller at La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton – features a classical design that pays homage to the very first wristwatch released by Louis Vuitton in 1988.

The LVRR-01 Chronographe à Sonnerie is delivered in a unique, traditional trunk made especially in the Asnières workshops for each watch. The trunk is painted by hand with a motif inspired by the chronograph scales on the enamel dial, along with the “AKRILVIA” logo and individual serial number of the respective watch.