This is the ultimate luxury smartwatch! Louis Vuitton's Tambour Horizon Light Up

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"Can smartwatches truly become a luxury item?" is a major question facing the IT and watch industries. This is my opinion. In January 2022, Louis Vuitton presented one answer: the Tambour Horizon Light Up.

The "Monogram" shines in seven colors!

　The new Tambour Horizon Light Up is the third generation of Louis Vuitton's connected watch, the Tambour Horizon. When I saw the actual watch at the exhibition, I was impressed and exclaimed, "This is luxury!"

　Some may say that the biggest talking point about this watch is that it has abandoned Google's smartwatch OS, Wear OS by Google, and instead created an original OS. However, I believe the greatest appeal of this connected watch is the seven-color monogram indicator on what Louis Vuitton calls the "bezel ring," the outermost part of the sapphire crystal crystal that corresponds to the bezel.

　Unlike previous Tambour Horizon models, the new model features an always-on display and a bezel-less design. This means that the sapphire crystal completely covers the front and sides of the watch. Louis Vuitton has incorporated 24 LEDs into this area to illuminate the monogram in seven colors.

　This is a special feature that is similar to the Horizon Light-Up Speaker, which was released in July 2021. Louis Vuitton first used the monogram's seven-color luminous gimmick in a speaker, naming it "Light Up." Following its smart speaker, the brand has now introduced the concept of "lightening up your life with monogram illumination" to its wristwatches.

Luxury is all about brand appeal

　These two "light-ups" show that Louis Vuitton has a good understanding of "what is a trademark for a luxury house?" and "what Louis Vuitton fans want from the brand." Otherwise, a design like this would never have been possible. I was impressed with the smart speaker, but this watch really impressed me. It's no wonder that Louis Vuitton is one of the most notable fashion houses.

　Fans of luxury fashion houses love their brands. One of the main reasons is the unwavering iconicity symbolized by the monogram. That's why each season, each house always releases new items featuring a large brand logo design. Wearing them brings great joy to fans. Fans have different levels of desire to show off their iconic presence to others. However, this is an essential element for bags, watches, and accessories, even more so than clothing. That's why Louis Vuitton first incorporated this function into its smart speakers, and then into this connected watch.

　What's more, the monogram on the bezel changes color and sparkles vividly. This is incredibly "emotional," or in modern terms, "emo." There is no other gimmick that smartly yet powerfully appeals to the brand's power.

While migrating to a proprietary OS, we also obtained Apple certification!

　Of course, as IT media have pointed out, the transition from Wear OS by Google to its own OS is also big news that cannot be overlooked.

　Louis Vuitton has been one of the leading fashion houses to actively develop connected watches. The first model, the Tambour Horizon, was released in 2017 to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the Tambour collection. Until now, Louis Vuitton has consistently used the Qualcomm Snapdragon platform and Wear OS by Google OS.

　However, this time, the platform is the latest Qualcomm platform, the Snapdragon 4100, which is said to have the same power as older smartphones. However, the OS has been changed to a proprietary one.

　The main reason is to ensure optimal operability and application access for Louis Vuitton's connected watches. It is also thought to be to make the most of the expressive power of the "Monogram" on the bezel.

Starting with this "Light Up" model, two buttons have been added above and below the crown button: the top one for shuffling the watch face and calling up the settings selection mode, and the bottom one for shortcuts to call up user-defined apps.

　Although the OS is now proprietary, the smartphones that support it remain the same: Android, the world's largest operating system, as well as iOS and Huawei's Harmony OS. What's more, it is the first to receive MFI (Made for iPhone) certification, which guarantees compatibility with Apple's iPhones.

　In other words, there are good things about having your own OS, but nothing bad.

What about watch brands from the same group?

　By the way, Tag Heuer, a watch brand of the LVMH Group, to which Louis Vuitton belongs, was one of the first watch brands to offer connected watches in 2015, and Hublot also began offering connected watches in 2018, with a limited edition model for referees at the FIFA World Cup™ in Russia, and in 2020 as a regular model.

　In other words, the LVMH Group has been very ambitious in developing connected watches. Will Louis Vuitton's OS change extend to its fellow group companies, Tag Heuer and Hublot? This is something I am very curious about.

　The reason is that Jean Arnault, the 23-year-old fourth son of LVMH Group Chairman Bernard Arnault, was appointed Marketing and Product Development Director for Louis Vuitton's watch division in August 2021. It has been reported that Jean learned about watches at Tag Heuer, where his third brother, Frédéric Arnault, is CEO.

　Both Frederic and Jean are true digital natives, so they must be thinking about the significance and future of smartwatches, with an eye on the coming Metaverse era.

　We must not forget that the background to the release of Louis Vuitton's new connected watch, the Tambour Horizon Light Up, is the Arnault family's business succession. It is possible that this watch is a precursor to the smartwatch strategy of watch brands under the LVMH Group.