Carving a Niche

QUEENSTOWN IN THE SOUTH OF New Zealand is some 18,000km—and a full day’s flight—away from Geneva, Switzerland, where La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton, the watchmaking subsidiary of the fashion giant is based. But this distance was not going to deter the fashion house from showcasing its horological prowess to the cognoscenti as it organised a regional high watchmaking presentation in the Kiwi resort town in March.

Master watchmaker Michel Navas, the creative mind behind some of the brand’s most innovative pieces, flew in from Geneva, bringing with him a host of timepieces, including