Time certainly flies and Baselworld 2015 is behind us. That doesn’t stop us from stepping inside the Louis Vuitton Villa that presented the House’s latest watch creations to the international press for the event.
Part of the official Baselworld program, Louis Vuitton welcomed guests to a haven removed from the tumult of the fair. Located in the heart of Basel, the Wildt’sche Haus was built in the 18th century by the architect Johann Jacob Fechter. Since the last three years, the palace has been home to the Louis Vuitton Villa during the international watch and jewelry show organized each spring in the city of Basel, Switzerland. With its distinctive style of the residences built by silk merchants in the 18th century, the mansion’s centuries-old décor provides an elegant venue to welcome guests, enhanced by modern art works and contemporary furniture.
The Louis Vuitton Villa plays the role of a museum that exhibits the company’s ground-breaking expertise in the world of watchmaking. It has not been a business destination since Louis Vuitton only sells its watches in its network of stores.
The villa opened its doors to allow visitors revel in the timeless world of time-telling devices! Master watchmaker Michel Navas who had set up his movable workbench on the first level enchanted visitors with his latest inventions. The cathedral chimes rang imitating the deep sonority of church bells and equipping the new Escale Répétition Minutes Worldtime watch. Also on display were his watchmaking tools, which have been exclusively designed for him by Louis Vuitton workshops.
The latest chronographs from Louis Vuitton, delicately encased in trunk-like boxes were put on show in adjoining rooms. On the Escale Timezone and Evolution Spin Time, the hands are accompanied by rotating discs and squares, allowing globetrotters to display the time in different time zones on the dial of their watch.
The facade of the Louis Vuitton Villa was illuminated at night and the celebration of time moved out to the building’s interior courtyard. Guests spread out in the winter garden created for the occasion to share about time and timepieces over drinks and dinner during the special soirée. Faithful to the House’s emblematic philosophy, a visit to the Louis Vuitton Villa becomes a journey beyond time.
