La Volano

Discover Journey, Volano B114 Special Edition by Berkel: a journey that celebrates the elegance of its movements.

12 June 2024

From history's first mechanical slicer to design icon

When you name Berkel, a very precise image is formed in your mind: its details, the characteristic red, its scenic presence. How many objects can boast such evocative power? Very few, but certainly one of these is the Volano, celebrated in this special edition of 100 copies.

Ladies and gentlemen, here is Journey:

The artistic direction

Working for Journey has been a real pleasure and a great honor, especially because Berkel entrusted us with the creative development of the project, which bears our signature, engraved on the pedestal of each of the 100 slicers.

Invested by this important task, we have traveled a journey between suggestions and dedication, between art and technique, accompanied by the expert Berkel team, to discover the very essence of this unmistakable object.

Celebrating the Volano means capturing the beauty of its design and the perfection of its movements. It also means admiring its timeless style, but giving value to its history.

At the company’s headquarters we were able to observe the skill of its skilled fitters, which immediately evoked the world of craftsmanship and workshops, where unmistakable objects like this are assembled. The incredible precision of its parts, which move in perfect sync, reminded us of the gears of a chronograph.

The praise of mechanics

We have treasured all the elements that inspired us along this journey and that allowed us to elaborate the concept of Journey, that is the elegance of mechanics, told through what most characterizes it: the components of the slicer itself and the tools of the trade.

Screwdrivers, wrenches, but also chains and gears: the work tools become protagonists and have been engraved and ennobled using different techniques such as gilding on the flywheel and grinding to obtain a deliberately worn effect on the column.

In addition, on the side disc we have engraved extracts of the technical drawing of the first Volano by Wilhelmus Adrianus van Berkel.

As a side touch, we wanted to pay tribute also to the theme of the journey, using precisely the start of the chronograph, engraving on the lateral edge of the flywheel 797 notches corresponding to the kilometers that divide Rotterdam from Milan, its origin and its present.

The Volano B114 Journey - Special Edition, will be on display from 16 to 21 April at the SCIC Italia Flagship Store, Via Durini 19, Milan.

Find out more on the official Berkel.