Akrivia and Rexhep have somewhat of a cult following and it’s not until you get to peruse one of his watches in the metal that you come to realize the great and the not-so-great things about the brand and their watches. Today, as we published the news about the Akrivia X Louis Vuitton LVRR-01 Chronographe à Sonnerie, I had to go back to my notes when I dissected the Akrivia AK-06.
The first time I met Rexhep Rexhepi was back in October of 2015 during the SIAR —Salón Internacional de Alta Relojería— in Mexico City. A few months later I would visit his first atelier in Geneva, Switzerland before he moved to the current space in Geneva’s old town. Back then, the AK-04 and the Tourbillon Barrette-Mirroir had just been released. Six years later, I met with the owner of an Akrivia AK-06 and asked him to allow me to photograph it during a casual meeting over beers and sushi at an undisclosed location. But it’s not until you’ve put the watch under the scrutiny of a macro lens that you get to see some of the not-so-great things about Akrivia and its finishes. For a watch at this price point and with a turnaround that takes no less than a year after one has placed an order for the watch to be completed, you wouldn’t expect to see what I found.
While I respect what Rexhep has accomplished in just eleven years, I also have to be fair and unbiased as the supporter of independent horology that I consider myself to be. By no means, Akrivia can be compared to names like Philippe Dufour, F.P. Journe, Vacheron Constantin, Patek Philippe, De Bethune, or Greubel Forsey, just to name a few. To my surprise, my pictures —and honestly not my best— revealed things I wasn’t expecting to see considering their cult following and its pricing.
If you look closely at the hammered finish on the mainplate around 1 o’clock, you’ll see that the pattern missed many spots around that one area circled in red. Then comes the perlage next to the seconds subdial that is not perfectly symmetrical nor properly superimposed —quite sloppy to be honest. Then, as far as black polish goes, this is nowhere near the level of black polish from brands like De Bethune or Greubel Forsey.
My Thoughts on the Akrivia X Louis Vuitton Collaboration
I personally do not like the fact that Louis Vuitton and Rexhep joined forces. While I like for independent watchmakers to become more prominent and successful, in my book independent watchmaking should remain ‘independent’. When you have someone like Louis Vuitton collaborate with an independent brand like Akrivia, it appears to me that is more of a marketing strategy to elevate their brand rather than creating something magnificent together.
While the watch is very interesting and exemplary in terms of horological prowess, the watch is ugly, at least to me. The choice of a tinted black sapphire crystal for the front of the watch cheapens it in my opinion. Then comes the back with a beautiful Grand Feu enamel dial that remains hidden and useless. For the Akrivia X Louis Vuitton LVRR-01 they decided to keep the most beautiful side of the watch hidden and completely useless when it comes to a chronograph.
Yes, they say that you can tell the elapsed time via the sonnerie, but what if you’re hearing is not good or you’re just distracted? On this new watch using the chronograph remains completely useless unless you take the watch off your wrist.
Keep in mind that this watch is not like a Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Duo Face or a De Bethune DB Kind of Two that is perfectly reversible and can be worn on either side by swiveling the case. If you’re going to make a watch that has two dials, you have to make both of them functional.
Akrivia is very well known for manually blueing their steel hands over a bed of heated brass filings and I’ve seen Rexhep and his brother do this in person. Therefore, I still don’t understand why they did not fit the new Akrivia X Louis Vuitton LVRR-01 Chronographe à Sonnerie with blued hands. Yet, a missed opportunity that would’ve made the watch better looking.
Oh, and that calf strap —mainly the typical Louis Vuitton vachetta leather— reminds me of LV purses and bags. Honestly, for such a special watch at this price point, you’d expect an alligator strap or something very special. Additionally, they chose to add to the dial six gold cubes filled with translucent fired enamel in a plique-à-jour technique that I just don’t see any room for or thought process behind.
Sadly, I do have to say that the trunk is the best part of this collaboration and is simply to die for. I might be coming across as too picky, but if you are selling a watch priced at half a million dollars, it better check all the boxes and then some. You should be able to overdeliver and not fall short.
Rexhep and Akrivia have heavily relied on the image that has been created of them by the media, watch industry peers, and cult followers; however, this young brand and watchmaker do not have yet what it takes to become the next Max Büsser, Kari Voutilainen, Denis Flageollet, Stephen Forsey, Philippe Dufour, Daniel Roth, Roger Dubuis, or François-Paul Journe.
After what I’ve seen in the past with the help of my camera macro lens and what this new watch looks like, I have to say that I am not impressed by this collaboration. Like I’ve said before, I still would buy an Akrivia but not at their price point. And for half a million dollars you can get a lot more watch outside of this Louis Vuitton Akrivia collaboration.
For more info on Akrivia click here and for Louis Vuitton here.
