Louis Vuitton has been on a roll for a while now, we’ve been following them recently and have been wowed by their releases. As they step back into the limelight of the watchmaking world they have the unenviable task of navigating the seas of this passionate industry. On the one hand you’ve got regular fans and enthusiasts, people like myself and probably you, who love watches and expect much from watchmakers. However, we’re not in the realm of affording to buy a brand-new watch at Louis Vuitton’s standard price level. On the other hand, there are people who can afford to buy their watches, but if they are, it’s probably more of a fashion statement. That’s not a bad thing, I should say, but it can send the design teams of watch brands mixed signals. Louis Vuitton seems to have shot an arrow right down the middle between those sides with both of its new releases.
Louis Vuitton Tambour Convergence
The new Tambour Convergence is one for the fans whether they can afford one or not. Its design is unique in the watch world, a rare take on a display type called montre à guichet where the word guichet can be translated to mean ‘window’ although the French may use other words as appropriate, such as with a porthole on a boat which is called an hublot. The guichet layout in the sense it’s used here is a real rarity in the watch world but it’s not specific to one brand. Indeed, companies such as Audemars Piguet, Breguet, Cartier and Vacheron Constantin are just some of the names who have made these watches over the years, and now Louis Vuitton’s new Tambour Convergence is joining them.
At 37mm x 8mm the watch isn’t particularly sizeable and its unusual appearance may well limit its appeal further. But, if I’m honest, this isn’t a watch for everyone and that’s perfectly okay. The guichet display limits the functions to just hours and minutes with the hours being the larger display and the minutes the smaller. These are not jumping displays, instead they move slowly around and display the time. On the 18k pink gold model the case receives brushing and polishing to make it look like a fine jewellery piece (and attract scratches). A 950 platinum version also exists, and the top of that watch’s case is festooned with 795 snow-set diamonds, which require over 30 hours of work to complete.
Both models are powered by the calibre LFT MA01.01 has largely been developed in-house by Louis Vuitton. I wasn’t expecting them to take long to start building their own movements given the amount of resources they have to throw around. The self-winding movement features a 4Hz beat rate with a free-sprung balance for extra shock resistance and a 45-hour power reserve, with both watches displaying the movement through a sapphire crystal caseback.
The new watch costs €37,000 in 18k rose gold and the diamond-set platinum version costs €67,000.
Louis Vuitton Tambour Taiko Spin Time
As impressive as the Tambour Convergence watches are, I think the Tambour Taiko Spin Time watches are going to steal the show a bit as they combine Louis Vuitton’s most iconic watch design with exciting new horological twists.
The Spin Time watches use a set of cubes organised around the outside of the watch’s dial to indicate the time. They each take a turn at rotating, and because there are twelve of them, they are used to indicate the hours. They rotate to display a lighter-coloured backdrop indicating which hour it is.
The most “basic” one, if there can be such a thing, features a 39.5mm x 12.15mm 18k white gold case with uniquely shaped lugs. The grey dial is a clean sheet for the design to stand out on and stand out it does. It’s easy to see which end of the market Louis Vuitton aims at. The watch comes with the new in-house-made calibre LFT ST13.01, which has a 4Hz beat rate and 45-hour power reserve. This version on the grey rubber strap is limited to 150 examples worldwide.
It costs €80,000 and there’s also a version set with 4.3 karats of baguette-cut diamonds, which increases the retail price to €160,000 and reduces its availability to just 50 examples.
The Tambour Taiko Spin Time Air is the next watch on the list, and it’s slightly larger at 42mm x 12.45mm. They’re water resistant to 50m which is odd considering the previous watches are 100m water resistant. This one ups the visual drama by suspending those time cubes (as I’m calling them now) in mid-air. For some reason, they also spell out the Louis Vuitton name rather than showing which numeral is which. Given that the Louis Vuitton name is also printed on the dial and embossed into the bezel, it seems unlikely you’ll forget it. The Tambour Spin Time Air comes with the same movement as the previous watches, although this time it’s on display through an open caseback. The “regular” version of this model is limited to 150 examples and priced at €90,000.
There is also a version that’s been snow set with over 1000 diamonds as well, if you’re interested. That’s limited to 30 examples for €160,000 each.
The next watch is the Tambour Taiko Spin Time Antipode which utilises the ‘time cubes’ for a different purpose. This watch is Louis Vuitton’s idea of a world-timer, it uses a regular hand for the minutes display and a world map with a yellow arrow as the hour display. The ‘time cubes’ each feature two cities, each of which is 12 hours apart in their timezones, so where it’s noon in London, UK, it’s midnight in Auckland, NZ. What’s clever is the time cubes can rotate to indicate which city is in the daytime and which in the night, depending on the colour of their backdrop. This allows you to view the time in all 24 main time zones at once, and it’s possible thanks to the self-winding calibre LFT ST12.01, which has a 4Hz beat rate and 45-hour power reserve. This watch, too, is in a white gold case measuring 42mm x 12.45mm and is limited to 50 examples costing €110,000 each.
The last version is easily the most haute horlogerie of the bunch. It’s the Tambour Taiko Spin Time Flying Tourbillon and it gets its name from the flying tourbillon at the centre of the dial. Who knew horology journalism was this easy? To make this happen a new movement layout was devised so the tourbillon could take centre stage on the dial side while also still powering the ‘time cubes’.
The end result is the self-winding calibre LFT ST05.01, which has a 45-hour power reserve and 4Hz beat rate, meaning Louis Vuitton has ensured the tourbillon has no detrimental effect on the watch’s accuracy. I like that they went with the see-through look like the Spin Time Air but gave it the regular ‘time cubes’. The tourbillon’s cage is shaped to represent the flower Louis Vuitton’s leather goods are usually adorned with. This watch is also presented in a white gold case measuring 42.5mm x 12.45mm and is limited to 70 examples worldwide. It costs €190,000.
Louis Vuitton truly has been stepping up its game in the world of haute horlogerie, and it’s very interesting to see a big name go all in on its luxury watchmaking division in the way that other reputable brands *cough* Dior *cough* just haven’t. It would be nice if we saw something from them nearer the affordable end of the market, though.
