Exploring the origins of the name of Louis Vuitton's Tambour

Everything has a name, and each name has a meaning and a reason for being named. So, what is the origin of the name of that famous watch? In this column, we will explore the secrets behind the names of watches and introduce them along with their anecdotes.
This time, we will explore the origin of the name "Tambour," which is now arguably an iconic watch made by Louis Vuitton.

Louis Vuitton "Tambour"

The Tambour was launched in 2002 as Louis Vuitton's first watch collection. "Tambour" means "drum" in French. The unique case is modeled after a small portable clock, or drum-shaped clock, made in southern Germany in 1540.

　Drum watches were the earliest travel watches, powered by a mainspring, making them small and portable. This makes them the perfect motif for Louis Vuitton, a brand whose roots lie in the production of travel bags and whose craftsmanship centers around travel.

　Incidentally, it wasn't until the late 1990s that Louis Vuitton went from being a bag manufacturer to establishing itself as the total brand it is today. This began in 1997 when fashion designer Marc Jacobs was appointed artistic director. Since then, Marc Jacobs has completely reconstructed Louis Vuitton's new worldview, including fashion and the existing bag collection. It is said that Marc Jacobs built the foundation of Louis Vuitton as it is today.

　In short, Louis Vuitton has changed significantly since Marc Jacobs took over, and the Tambour is considered one of the icons of the post-Marc Jacobs era, as it was the first watch collection in Louis Vuitton's history to be created during that time.

　So many people may think that the concept of the Tambour was created by Marc Jacobs. The motif of the Tambour is a drum-shaped clock, which in turn has a travel theme, and the story behind it was created by Marc Jacobs.

　However, Louis Vuitton actually produced watches before the Tambour. As they were standalone models, they were not part of a watch collection, but for a very short period of time they sold the Montre LV1 and LV2 models. These quartz-moved watches had a 40mm case diameter, a pointer date, and an alarm. According to a 1993 catalog I own, the Montre LV2 was priced at 23 yen at the time.

　What's interesting is that the Montre LV2 is featured in the catalog on a page called "Travel Accessories." There is also a page for "Business Accessories," but it is listed under "Travel Accessories." This means that Louis Vuitton watches have always had a travel theme, even long before the Tambour was born.

　Therefore, the concept of the Tambour is not Marc Jacobs's. The Tambour is a continuation of the long-standing Louis Vuitton tradition that predates Marc Jacobs.

　Another important point is that Marc Jacobs had no involvement in the design of the Tambour, as evidenced by the fact that his name does not appear in the catalogue (which is quite elaborately bound) that was released in 2002.

　Well, when you look at the Tambour again, there are surprisingly no traces of Marc Jacobs. Even though it was a product born from Marc Jacobs' new worldview for Louis Vuitton, there is absolutely no trace of Marc Jacobs' influence. And this was probably done carefully from the beginning.

　In other words, the Tambour is not a watch made by a fashion designer, but a fashion watch. The Tambour is a genuine watch. And just as it is, today the Tambour has released complications and is now part of the luxury watch industry.

The Tambour is truly a masterpiece, carefully planned and created by the historic Maison Louis Vuitton.

Yutaka Fukuda
Writer and editor. Writes about men's lifestyles in general for publications such as "LEON" and "MADURO." He also writes about watches in a series of articles and appears in many videos for the web magazine "FORZA STYLE."

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