The iconic French brand, Louis Vuitton, has long been recognized as a leader in luxury, specifically, leather goods. However, in the year 2002 Louis Vuitton embarked on a phenomenal journey, to become a luxury watch designer.
The Tambour, which started it all, is a design inspired by the Japanese Kodo drummers. It became the most iconic Louis Vuitton wristwatch design, thanks to the signature 12 Louis Vuitton letters, symmetrically engraved around the case.
Today, and more than a decade later, Louis Vuitton is no longer the newcomer. Having acquired, in 2011, the movement manufacturing house “La Fabrique Du Temps”, Louis Vuitton is now developing its own complications and innovative designs.
In July 2012, Marc Jacobs, the lead designer for Louis Vuitton at the time, teamed up with Yakoi Kusama to bring forth the special edition Quartz 28mm Tambour monogram wristwatch, only limited to 188 timepieces.
This year, Louis Vuitton showcased watches from its latest collection at the prestigious BaselWorld Exhibition: The Tambour Twin Chrono, featuring multiple timing and the Tambour Regatta Spin Time, prompting watch critics to finally sit up and take notice of Louis Vuitton as an elite watchmaker.
Recently, Louis Vuitton was recognized at the GPHG for two aspects of watch design: artistic craftsmanship and horological innovation. The first timepiece to gain such recognition was ‘Les Ardentes Secret’ , for its beautifully hand crafted diamond face, complete with 65 and 77 facet diamonds in the flower and star cuts respectively. The second was the impeccably designed Tambour Monogram Tourbillon, featuring complications usually reserved only for the connoisseurs of watch-making: a micro rotor, a tourbillon and a 60 hour power reserve. With its mother of pearl engraved dial, diamond embedded bezel and leather bands, this 38mm watch is proof of Louis Vuitton’s watchmaking maturity.
If you are looking for history and heritage you might consider other brands first but once you start looking for design, innovation and style cased in a top notch iconic case and a movement built and decorated by the best in the trade with a unique Monogram design, then the Louis Vuitton Tambour is the perfect watch for you.
