No, you can't afford this Louis Vuitton watch and clock combo

Have you ever thought about buying a watch and clock as a matching pair? Some brands already do this – Rolex has its in-store desk Submariners, Mondaine sells Swiss railway-style clocks. But the latest novelty by Louis Vuitton is something far more extreme.

It comes from a collaboration with De Bethune and it’s called the LVDB-03 Louis Varius Project. The project comprises two distinct items – there’s a watch called the LVDB-03 GMT Louis Varius, and the clock called the LVDB-03 Sympathique Louis Varius.

The watch can be bought either on its own or with the clock, and it’s customers that splash out for the latter who are in for a real treat. That’s because the clock – a majestic spinning orb of a thing, complete with LV-branded travel trunk – is used to wind and synchronise the watch when it’s not being worn.

This technology is known in horological circles as a Sympathique clock, where the larger timepiece keeps the smaller one wound and accurate.

I’ll start with the watch. It features a 45 mm blue titanium case with polished platinum lugs attaching it to a blue fabric strap with black leather lining. A second included strap pairs a cognac alligator leather strap with a blue titanium buckle.

Created in partnership with Swiss watchmaker De Bethune, the watch shows the time in the traditional manner, along with a second 24-hour time display and a dial finished in rose gold and blue titanium to signify day and night. The blue night sky is punctuated by a constellation of white gold stars styled into a subtle LV logo.

Inside, the watch is driven by a De Bethune DB2507LV manually-wound mechanical movement with a double barrel system, titanium balance wheel and five days of power reserve. The movement is visible through an exhibition case back and adjusted with a platinum crown at the three o’clock position.

Or if you stretch your budget to the two-piece set, the watch is fully wound (and its time set) by placing it inside the clock. The clock is a work of art, made from titanium, weighing in at 10 kg and measuring 31 x 27 x 26 cm. There’s a hand-decorated rose gold dome at its centre, surrounded by a dial with floating hour and minute hands.

The engineering here is deeply impressive, since all you do is place the watch inside the dome, and the clock goes about setting the time and winding the watch via its crown. The clock itself is wound with a key made from titanium, and has 11 days of power reserve. All in, it’s a mind-blowing piece of mechanical engineering that would surely be the crown jewel of any watch (or clock) collection.

But it’s also extremely extensive and vanishingly rare. Only 12 examples of the watch will be produced, priced at €375,000 (about £324,000). If you want the clock as well, that’s €4 million and only two are being made – but at least they also come with the watch!