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It tends to be a big deal when a watchmaker unveils their first “in-house” movement, a pivotal milestone that often marks a step into the upmarket. For Italian brand Venezianico, tapping into the expertise of Fausto Berizzi, the technical director of OISA, was the key to their first proprietary mechanical caliber, designed, registered, and built entirely in Italy. The result is the Redentore Utopia, and its beating heart: the V5000 Caliber mechanical movement.
In a break from convention, the Redentore Utopia is more of a stage for the V5000 Caliber movement—a catalyst for the Venezianico brand and its future momentum. Still, Venezianico matches the enthusiasm of the movement with a visually-gripping timepiece that certainly doesn’t signal its status as simply a vessel for the brand’s technical growth. Wearing a 316L stainless steel case that measures at 38mm in diameter and 8.9mm in thickness, the Utopia is firmly a dress watch. The deep blue dial is constructed via ion plating and features a dazzling, hand-engraved guilloché pattern, designed exclusively for the Utopia on a rose engine lathe by master artisan Riccarfo Renzetti. The result is a radial motif that gives the appearance of being in constant motion, with light glancing off each angle as the watch is shifted on the wrist.
On the dial, baton-style, hand-applied indices line the circumference, and faceted alpha hands match the stainless steel case’s polished finish. The sole text detail on the dial is the brand’s “cross” logo, also in silver, just below the 12 o’clock marker. The logo also appears on the crown, which sits at 6 o’clock on the case. The final piece of the Utopia puzzle is a handcrafted and embossed leather strap made by Tuscan-based Gian Pietro Failli, which matches the dial’s striking blue hue, and cements the Redentore Utopia as a pure Italian timepiece.
While I’m not usually one for dress watches that prioritize texture and visual dazzle over functionality, the Utopia’s design is clearly telegraphed in a way that gives it more of a stark, serious type of flash, rather than empty splendor. Of course, the real star of the show is the V5000 Caliber movement beneath the Utopia. The V5000’s technical specs include a high-end inertia-variable free sprung balance wheel manufactured by Atokalpa in copper-beryllium alloy (in the haute horlogerie tradition of emphasizing longevity). A free sprung balance wheel is a very traditional and these days somewhat exotic feature which allows the balance to oscillate freely without interference from a regulating device. The variable inertia system of the V5000 allows for stable and precise regulation using a quartet of masselottes (weights) arranged on the outside of the balance. Long-term rate stability is also enhanced by a split gear train that divides power distribution to the minutes and seconds separately, which is thought to keep the continuous motion of the seconds hand from affecting the consistency of the V5000’s timekeeping system. When fully wound, the V5000 has a 60-hour power reserve and operates at 25,200 vibrations per hour (3.5 Hz). According to the brand, it is rated accurate to ±3 seconds per day.
All of this is impressive, but none of it would be very special if it wasn’t decorated with a touch of fancy, of course, and the V5000 delivers the elegant details in spades. All of the movement’s bridges are decorated with radial Côtes de Genève patterns, and the double-supported balance bridge additionally features horizontal satin finishing. Micro-perlage can be seen on the mainplate—all bridges additionally feature polished anglage, and 19 jewels total decorate the V5000. All of this finery and engineering can be seen, of course, through a see-through caseback.
You have to give it up for Venezianico—there was no halfway effort put forth on any piece of the Redentore Utopia, or its crown jewel, the V5000 Caliber movement. Unfortunately (but predictably) all 100 examples of the Utopia sold out shortly after launch (at a retail price of $4,500 each). But we expect regular production watches featuring this movement to be available later this year, and we’ll have hands-on impressions as soon as we can. Venezianico
