Montre Heroes n°17: Carla Lanfranchini and VERSION's design vision
Issue n°17 of Montre Heroes, published in June 2025, is a special edition. Entirely dedicated to women actively involved in contemporary watchmaking and jewelry, it profiles those who, whether behind the scenes or in the spotlight, are driving forward a sector often dominated by masculine codes.
It is in this context that Carla Lanfranchini, Head of Design at VERSION Watches, is featured in a double-page spread. This profile reviews her career, her vision for object and watch design, and what she aims to embody through the V01-LCC.
Carla Lanfranchini: design as a language
At VERSION, design is not just one discipline among many. It is the starting point for every decision. Carla Lanfranchini is the main architect: she translates into shapes, textures, and colors what the Maison seeks to express.
Her approach draws from large objects: furniture, architecture, vintage automobiles. What the V01-LCC owes to this vision is a dial conceived as a facade, a case sculpted as a volume, and a color palette unique to the Maison.
But what distinguishes VERSION in the landscape of independent Swiss watchmaking is perhaps, above all, its relationship with transparency. The dials of the V01-LCC are semi-open to the movement: the openwork does not aim to show everything; it creates subtlety. A partial, calculated view of the mechanics, which hints without revealing. A rare approach in independent Swiss Made watchmaking, where an open dial is often a technical demonstration. At VERSION, it is first and foremost an aesthetic choice.
The V01-LCC Rosée, the V01-LCC Éclat, and the V01-LCC Tempête are three interpretations of the same immediately recognizable visual signature.
Recognition as part of a journey
This feature in Montre Heroes n°17 is not the Maison's first press recognition. VERSION Watches has also been highlighted in Montres Magazine n°141 and in a double-page spread in World Wrist Watch Japan n°168, in Tokyo. The V01-LCC Tempête was also selected for the GPHG 2025 Challenge category, and nominated for Watch of the Year 2025 by MyWatchSite. Each publication confirms the growing interest of the international watch press in a French house that rethinks designer Swiss Made watches.
Find the article
Issue n°17 of Montre Heroes is available in print at specialized retailers.
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📱 @versionwatches on Instagram 💼 VERSION Watches on LinkedIn 📩 version.watches@gmail.com
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VERSION Watches, French watchmaking house. Limited edition designer Swiss Made watches.