Two high-end pieces celebrate the 20th anniversary of Louis Vuitton's first watch collection, the Tambour.

Louis Vuitton celebrated its 20th anniversary of watchmaking, which began with the creation of the Tambour, with an exhibition at a ski resort to celebrate the occasion, revealing two intriguing high-end pieces.

An innovative complication marking 20 years of watchmaking

　To celebrate the 20th anniversary of Louis Vuitton's watchmaking, which began with the Tambour watch in 2002, events were held in Megève, one of France's leading ski resorts, and Geneva to unveil high-end pieces. As COVID-19 restrictions have been significantly relaxed in Europe, approximately 30 journalists, mainly from European countries, attended the events.

　Currently, Louis Vuitton does not participate in any of the major watch fairs. It has an established store network, and it wants to introduce its creations at a leisurely pace, immersing guests in an atmosphere that embodies the Maison's worldview. The luxurious space will be personalized with trunks and items that are symbolic of the Maison, and guests will also be able to share its side of never forgetting to enjoy life. Indeed, throughout this event, the desire to provide hospitality that allows guests to fully enjoy the Maison was conveyed.

　At this event, nearly 90 high-end pieces that have been released so far were exhibited in a luxurious chalet. These were set on illuminated stands, allowing visitors to see them in detail, rather than behind glass. And the highlight came when Louis Vuitton's marketing manager in charge of all watches guided us into the darkened space for the newly announced Tambour Spin Time Air Quantum.

　The quartz glass cube bearing the brand's 12 letters is hollow and matte-finished. It is illuminated by LEDs positioned on the periphery, emitting a soft yellow-green light reminiscent of the light emitted by insects and plants in nature. The central minute hand, contrasting with the black, is also coated with Super-LumiNova of the same color, allowing you to see the time in a fantastical way by pushing the crown, even in the dark.

　The electronic circuitry is cleverly hidden behind a metallic sapphire crystal case back. The case and clasp are made of DLC-coated titanium. Despite its futuristic style, the Côtes de Genève pattern under the DLC coating in the center and the circular graining on the bottom add a touch of traditional watchmaking. The two batteries installed are user-friendly and can be replaced at the technical centers in each area.

　The Spin Time mechanism used rotates the Maltese crosses on each of the 12 objects with a disk attached to a hook that rotates a quarter turn every 12 hours, while also fixing their position. While this may seem like it would consume a lot of energy, it actually consumes very little energy, as the energy is stored in a spring over the course of an hour and then released on the hour to instantly rotate the objects.

　Another new model inspired by the Spin Time mechanism was the Tambour Slim Vivienne Jumping Hour, also announced at the same event. Vivienne, the Maison's mascot, was created in 2017 and has been featured in a complicated watch for the second year in a row. The watch features a single wheel with the characteristic 12 teeth (hooks) of a Maltese cross, and the rotation of the disc is controlled solely by the gear train without the use of springs, with a ruby ​​cam enabling the instantaneous jump.

　With a conventional jumping hour system using a lever or spring, the strength of these components can easily cause problems such as insufficient or excessive jumps. However, this mechanism rotates solely through the meshing of gears, avoiding such issues. Featuring hour and minute displays with numbers and themed patterns, you can play around with the adorable Vivienne. Bringing together the evolution of in-house dial processing, the watch uses natural stones and mother-of-pearl as its base, and utilizes hand-painting, transfer printing, and setting to playfully express three themes: casino, fortune telling, and circus.

　I bravely told the manager in charge of all Louis Vuitton watches, "I don't sense any design codes or elements that are consistently adopted, which are often talked about by other brands." However, I was surprised by his response. In fact, I asked the same question to the designer, and got the exact same answer. "We intentionally don't care about anything like a design code," he said. Watches are the perfect stage for the brand to demonstrate its unique, free creativity.

　In fact, Louis Vuitton does not have the long history of other watch-only brands, and it has only been 20 years since they began making watches in earnest. This is why they are able to create watches freely without being bound by tradition or custom. I think this is the great appeal of the watches made by Louis Vuitton.

　This disc-type jumping hour system, which allows the time to be easily read, is highly reliable, jumps with high precision, and consumes little energy, making it a complex mechanism that will likely lead to a variety of complications in the future. These two new pieces give a sense of the direction Louis Vuitton is aiming for with its unique and even slightly crazy style of complicated watches. Expectations are only building as more such pieces are said to be released in the future.