FRANC VILA FVt28 Jumping Hours Automatique “Ivy Edition”

Just in time for Christmas 2009, “ultra-exclusive” watchmaker Franc Vila will be introducing its first ladies watch, the FRANC VILA FVt28 Jumping Hours Automatique “Ivy Edition”, available in 2 variations (blue and white).  As I stated back July when I wrote about Franc Vila’s FVa15 Column Regulator Automatique with Meteorite and Sapphire Glass Dial , I tend to find Franc Vila’s watches as interesting (and as technical) as his watch names, and this watch is no exception.  Intimidating  names aside, this watch has great visual appeal – in addition to the diamond paved lugs and bezel, you can see the “ivy” motif incorporated into the beautiful blue or white mother-of-pearl dial.  I can only imagine how spectacular these watches must look in person! And as with all Franc Vila watches, the FRANC VILA FVt28 Jumping Hours Automatique “Ivy Edition” is based on Vila’s signature case shape that is highly identifiable and recognizable.

“Looks” aside (though this will is clearly the primary selling point of the watch), the watch is technically interesting as well because it has a a function (or “complication” in watch parlance) known as a “jumping hour.”  A “jumping hour” watch operates by means of display in which the hour, shown through an aperture (located at the 12 o-clock position in the photos above), instantly changes every 60 minutes.

Overall, this looks to be a nice first step into the world of “ladies watches” for Franc Vila – a beautiful combination of form and function from the Spanish master!  Price is  about $32,000 in Blue and $20,000 in White.

Full Specs:

Case – Blue Edition: DieHard Extreme Steel. 387 diamonds (2.45 cts, quality TW VVS pure): bezel fully paved with diamonds and lugs paved with diamonds. 2 blue sapphires in frontal part of bezel. Special “Esprit Unique” shape with elliptic and circular bezel. Crystal and caseback both in sapphire with double sided anti-glare treatment. Water resistant 100 meters.

White Edition: DieHard Extreme Steel. 91 diamonds (0.70 cts) in the internal part of the bezel. 2 diamonds in frontal part of bezel.

Movement – High Grade Mechanical Self-Winding hand finished complicated movement Caliber FV28. 27 rubies. FRANC VILA Exclusive “Gold Concept Rotor”. Power reserve of 42 hours.

Functions -Jumping hours, minutes and seconds.

Dial -Blue Edition: Blue mother-of-pearl with printed floral decoration. 8 indexes set with diamonds. Hours window at 12′. Small seconds at 6′.

White Edition: White mother-of-pearl with printed floral decoration. 8 indexes set diamonds. Hours window at 12′. Small seconds at 6′.

Strap -Genuine Alligator hand stitched strap. DieHard Extreme Steel buckle (not folding).