The collaboration is striking for several reasons. The first is that Louis Vuitton’s watch department, under the leadership of Jean Arnault, is set to collaborate and support renowned independent watchmakers over a five-year programme—it inaugurated this initiative with Atelier Akrivia and the LVRR-01 Chronographe à Sonnerie. It is also the first watchmaking collaboration that Louis Vuitton has ever done with another watchmaker. Lastly, this timepiece is the world’s first chiming chronograph.

Now to its most interesting aspect: The LVRR-01 Chronographe à Sonnerie is the first watch to chime elapsed time with each passing minute—remember, that when activated, the chronograph function is actually out of sight on the dial underneath. To combine a chronograph with sonnerie, Rexhepi designed twin barrels, where one was used for the power source and the other for the chime. However, unconventionally, he linked the second barrel with the gear train, rather than keeping the barrels independent. When the chronograph is activated with the pusher at 2 o’clock, a black-polished steel hammer strikes a tempered steel gong and chimes each minute of elapsed time. The rotation of the second barrel also comes into play, which in turn supplies the energy to the base gear, providing enough energy for both mechanisms to function without creating any hindrance in the movement, the LVRR-01 calibre, a traditional hand-wound movement. Entirely hand-decorated with anglage and black polishing techniques, its power reserve is about 72 hours.

Flanking the case is a natural calfskin leather strap in a shade of brown completed with a platinum ardillon buckle, also made in Jean-Pierre Hagmann’s workshop and bearing the ‘JHP’ hallmark. The watch comes inside the traditional Louis Vuitton trunk, customised for the collaborative timepiece. The chronograph scales of the enamelled dial are hand-painted on the trunk, along with ‘AKRIVIA’ where once again the ‘V’ is paired with the ‘L’ to form the Louis Vuitton logo, and the serial number. The signatures of Rexhep Rexhepi, Jean-Pierre Hagmann, and Nicolas Doublel feature inside the trunk.

The design has an emotional connection with Rexhepi. The AK-01, the first watch that Rexhepi ever worked on at Atelier Akrivia, was a chronograph tourbillon, and the first Louis Vuitton watch with a complication, the Tambour LV277, was also a chronograph; eventually Louis Vuitton’s first haute horology watch featured a tourbillon. The movement of the AK-01 was designed by Enrico Barbasini, Michel Navas, and Mathias Buttet of BNB Concept, a think tank and movement maker that Rexhepi was once a part of (interestingly, now Barbasini and Navas are master watchmakers with Louis Vuitton at La Fabrique du Temps). 

Born in 1987 in the small village of Zheger in Kosovo, Rexhepi’s fascination with watches began with his father’s wristwatch, which he would open up and dig into. In 1998, he permanently moved to Geneva with his father to escape the war in Kosovo, and being in the hub of watchmaking proved fortuitous. “You have a lot of time, don’t have friends; you’re trying to find your passion. And you read about it [watchmaking]. I was quickly fascinated by it and realised I loved it,” Rexhepi says about his early days in Geneva.

What followed was a quick rise in the field of watchmaking. Rexhepi started his apprenticeship at Patek Philippe when he was 15, and was eventually hired by the prestigious maison. After five years there, he joined the aforementioned BNB Concept—Rexhepi started managing the company just after a year of working there, and went on to create complications for many recognised watch brands. He then joined F.P. Journe, where he was responsible for assembling their highly complicated movements. In 2012, he founded Akrivia, something he had dreamt of since his watchmaking days at Patek Philippe.

At Akrivia, Rexhepi wanted to keep things simple, working with traditional watchmaking where, everything from movements to decorations, was done more by hand and less with tools. “We are a little more than 20 people doing around 50 watches [a year],” says Rexhepi. “I have some suppliers for a few components, but my goal is to become totally independent.”

So, who is the Akrivia customer? Rexhepi defines his brand as authentic, aesthetic, artisanal, passionate, wanting to innovate, and having respect for history. “It’s important that people understand what we are doing and what we are trying to do. So having a customer who is open to learning, open to seeing that we are artisanal, is important.” He does not want to do watches because it is a trend, but instead wants to create something that he can be remembered for in the long run. “I am not sure if I will achieve it or not, but this is my dream, my motivation, and I want to work hard for this.”