Louis Vuitton's new 2026 models, moving forward from their origins in "travel."

To what extent can the "time of travel" be designed as a mechanism? Louis Vuitton's watchmaking explores this question in various ways. The diversity of time design is evident in features such as displays that show the time in each city, mechanisms that announce the time with sound, and systems that correct for time differences down to the minute. Furthermore, through the decoration of the dial and the techniques of time display, time is extended into the realm of materiality and form, emerging as a new form of expression. Born from the origin of "travel," Louis Vuitton watches are now advancing into a new realm of time expression.

Escargots guide us to the current state of travel mechanisms.

　How to position the concept of "travel time" within the space of a watch dial? Louis Vuitton's "Escale Worldtime Flying Tourbillon" is a model that integrates two complex mechanisms: a world time mechanism with a city display disc occupying the outer edge, and a flying tourbillon. A 24-city ring, a time disc including a day/night indicator, and a carriage that rotates once every 60 seconds. The design required arranging these mechanisms within a multi-layered structure.

　The biggest challenge was fitting the world time display and the central tourbillon into a limited space. By rethinking the layout of the time display mechanism and the regulating mechanism, both could be placed in the same space. In other words, Louis Vuitton did not simply combine complex mechanisms in this watch, but rather redesigned the spatial structure.

The grand feu enamel city ring used in the Flying Tourbillon is fired in a furnace at 730-840°C for more than 40 times in five layers. After that, it is carefully polished to achieve a deep, vitreous luster and vibrant colors. The production process takes approximately 80 hours.

The city rings of the Escale Worldtime watch are meticulously painted one color at a time using 35 different colors of paint applied with an ultra-fine brush. The drying process to fix the pigments is repeated many times for each color. It is an exquisite Métiers d'Art handiwork that takes about a week to complete a single dial.

　The Escale Worldtime Flying Tourbillon and the Escale Worldtime both share a structure that combines a jumping hour disc and a base city display to organize 24 time zones in an easy-to-read manner. The 24-hour display is handled by a single hand, and switching between base cities is intuitive. In the former, the flag on the outer edge of the dial is drawn with grand feu enamel using the cloisonné technique, and the rotational movement of the star-shaped tourbillon guides the eye to the center of the structure. The latter, on the other hand, is a model that reinterprets an icon born in 2014, and a colorful city ring is realized by miniature painting using 35 colors.

　By focusing on "how to showcase time" through city display discs, Louis Vuitton attempted to redesign time as a device for "seeing" time. However, the company extended its design focus beyond display structures to the handling of time itself. The "Escale Minute Repeater" symbolizes this.

　The act of "sounding" the time belongs to a different design domain than time display. The Escal Minute Repeater integrates a minute repeater, jumping hour, and retrograde minute hand as a model that presents a structure that synchronizes sight and sound.

The Cal.LFT SO13.01 movement features an Escal Minute Repeater. The slide piece that operates the repeater is integrated into the design at the 7-8 o'clock position, maintaining visual balance while incorporating the mechanism into the case design. The traditional high-quality finishes applied throughout, such as the Côtes de Genève and beveling on the bridges and other parts, are also noteworthy.

The minute repeater features an intricate flame guilloché dial crafted using a traditional rosewood engine lathe. The radially spreading pattern strongly reflects light, guiding the viewer's gaze to the retrograde minute hand. The engraving process, which involves engraving with uniform depth and pressure, requires a high level of skill and contributes to ensuring excellent legibility.

　The emphasis in designing the tone was on a clear, deep resonance. The gong is finished through ear-based adjustment and precise measurements, and the same watchmaker handles everything from assembly to final casing. The black polished hammers and gong are shaped and cut by hand. The almost silent operation of the centrifugal regulator supports the clarity of the sound.

　The movement in this watch is based on the minute repeater designed by Gerald Genta and released in 25. However, some design modifications were made to adapt it to the round case of the "Escale" while maintaining the sound quality as much as possible. In addition, the slide piece that operates the repeater is seamlessly integrated from the base of the lug at the 7 o'clock position to the 8 o'clock position. The design prioritizes the coherence of the case form rather than showcasing a complex mechanism.

　On the other hand, the "Escal Twin Zone" is designed for "adjusting" the time. It features a dual time (hour and minute) display and a day and night indicator at the 12 o'clock position. While conventional GMT models only added a sub-hour hand, this model arranges four hands coaxially and adds an independently adjustable sub-minute hand, enabling correction in 15-minute increments. It is designed to accommodate time zones around the world, including non-standard time zones such as 30-minute and 45-minute intervals.

The dial of the Escale Twinzone features a globe motif engraved with lines of longitude and latitude. The satin-finished surface catches the light, creating rich, three-dimensional shadows and functioning as a visual motif symbolizing the world of travel. Cabochon-shaped minute markers, reminiscent of trunk screws, are placed on the outer flange.

The Twin Zone features four hands arranged coaxially. A solid hand indicates local time, while a skeleton hand indicates home time, simultaneously displaying two time zones. The crown has two positions, allowing for independent adjustment of the sub-minute hand for the second time zone, enabling time difference correction in 15-minute increments. It is designed to accommodate non-standard time zone regions.

　A mechanism that produces sound and a system that adjusts it down to the minute. Louis Vuitton goes beyond mere display, redefining time as a mechanically manipulated object. The next question is, in what material does that time reside?

　"Time" is not only designed as a mechanism; it can also manifest as a physical entity through materials and form. Louis Vuitton's watchmaking is moving towards that stage.

The "Escale Automatic Yellow Gold & Tiger's Eye" is an attempt to incorporate decorative stones into the case structure itself. A ring of natural tiger's eye is integrated into the middle case, while 18K yellow gold is used for the lugs, bezel, and crown. The result is a combination of the warm colors of the mineral and the soft luster of the metal. Tiger's eye is a relatively hard stone with a Mohs hardness of 7, yet it has a fibrous internal structure. This structure creates the cat's eye effect, but processing it carries the risk of breakage and chipping. Therefore, only rough stones with few cracks or inclusions are carefully selected and processed under conditions that minimize vibration and temperature rise. The process of forming the ring while determining the direction of the fibers and bringing out the luster through polishing requires the intuition of a gem cutter. The final combination of the dial and case ring is judged by the craftsman based on the direction of the pattern and the harmony of the colors. It is a process in which natural materials and human skill intersect.

　On the other hand, the Tambour Automatic Convergence Guilloche is a model that redesigns the "visualization" of time. Two rotating discs are placed in an arched opening at the 12 o'clock position, with the upper disc displaying hours and the lower disc displaying minutes. A central lozenge marker indicates the current time. The shape of the opening is inspired by the interior architecture of the Vuitton family's residence in Asnières, a suburb of Paris, and visually indicates the passage of time while ensuring legibility. The dial surface is engraved with guilloché patterns using a manual lathe. Concentric ripples are engraved on the outer edge of the dial, and radial lines are engraved in the center, using two different manual lathes: an 1850 rose engine and a 1935 straight-line engine. The process of carving the slightly curved case surface requires adjusting the depth and pressure of the blade. The depth of the engraving reaches about three times that of a typical dial guilloché, and the contrast of the lines stands out even after the final polishing. The decoration, which takes about 16 hours, is also a structural expression that controls light and texture.

　The new models we've looked at so far treat time on different levels: time as a mechanism, time as a material, and time as a display. Louis Vuitton's watchmaking transcends these boundaries, extending time into the realms of materiality and form. The "Louis Vuitton Camionetto" lies at the forefront of this extension.

The cargo bed holds a miniature trunk made of monogram canvas. The license plate "LV 1854" indicates the year the Maison was founded and is a design homage to historical delivery trucks. The body, which follows the silhouette of an actual vehicle, is made of aluminum and steel.

The key that appears when you open the trunk is a special tool for winding the movement and adjusting the time. Its silhouette is reminiscent of trunk fittings, and its design evokes the hand cranks of yesteryear. It is not merely decorative, but also plays a practical role in powering the mechanical clock inside.

　Inspired by the delivery trucks that connected the Asnières atelier and its customers in the early 20th century, this piece reinterprets the Maison's travel history as a time object. The saffron and blue body is made of aluminum and steel, and inside is a mechanical movement developed in collaboration with Les Péries 1839. A balance wheel in the center of the cabin pulsates, and two rotating cylinders housed inside the bonnet display the hours and minutes. The movement of the escapement can also be observed through a transparent panel. A miniature monogram trunk is placed in the cargo bed, and a key for winding and setting the time is hidden inside. This work integrates the vehicle as a practical object, the mechanical structure of a watch, and the Maison's trunk culture.

　Minerals, ornamentation, form. Louis Vuitton demonstrates that time is not merely a concept confined within a machine. Time is designed as a mechanism, constructed as a display, tangible as a material, and takes shape as a story. Starting from the origin of travel, the Maison's watches are now expanding into realms that transcend mechanism, material, and form.