In 2002, the Maison presented a unique watch in the world: the Tambour. Bold and innovative, it is instantly recognizable for its unprecedented shape, round case carved from a metal block, and iconic applied crowns. This watch has opened the doors to the secret world of watchmaking at Louis Vuitton.
Pushing the limits
In becoming a symbol of the Louis Vuitton watch collection over the years, the Tambour has had different expressions over time, while always remaining faithful to the Maison’s DNA: a dedication to the Art of Travel and an eulogy to bold creativity that blends innovation. technology with magnificent craftsmanship. In 2009, with the Tambour Spin Time a new way of showing the hours was even inaugurated, instead of hands and indexes there are twelve rotating cubes. In 2011, La Fabrique du Temps in Geneva and its master watchmakers, Michel Navas and Enrico Barbasini, embarked on Louis Vuitton’s adventure in making some truly exceptional timepieces.
Introduced in 2014, the Tambour Evolution offers masculine and vigorous lines with a case with a diameter of 45 mm, while the Tambour Slim 2016, in the Tourbillon version, appears elegant and discreet on the wrist. With the Tambour Moon presented in 2017, the model has kept its emblematic round case intact, but characterized by a unique inward curvature. In 2020, the Tambour Curve literally pushed the boundaries of maximum precision, with a titanium and Carbostratum® case; a surprisingly elongated convex curve and a formidable caliber with a flying tourbillon, bearing the mark of the prestigious Poincon de Genève, a perfect combination of remarkable complexity of the movement and daring creativity.
In 2021, the Tambour Carpe Diem won the Audacity award at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève, while the Tambour Street won the award for best diver. Louis Vuitton Haute Horlogerie art has also been closely linked to the connected watch. Thanks to this technology, the future is now. In 2022, the Maison has already unveiled the third generation of the Tambour Horizon Light Up model: a simply revolutionary connected watch. In addition to being equipped with a fabulous lighting system, being ideal for travel and containing a playful nature, it is also fully customizable, to remain faithful to the DNA of the Maison.
A Twenty for Twenty Years In the span of just two decades, Louis Vuitton has conquered a prominent place in the world of high-class watchmaking. During this period, the timeless and iconic stylistic signature of the Tambour was linked to all types of watches, from the most classic to those equipped with the most complex movements.
Based on the wishes of the wearer, it was masculine, feminine, GMT, ideal for diving, and was also equipped with a flying tourbillon and a minute repeater, demonstrating the highest level of excellence that the Maison’s craftsmen aspire to. . To enhance the timepiece that made it all possible, the iconic Tambour, La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton has devised an exclusive model to celebrate the anniversary: the Tambour Twenty. The limited edition of 200 pieces pays homage to the original Tambour by taking up the emblematic codes that have made it an icon in the universe of Haute Horlogerie.
“Fans of timepieces will find all the features that have made the design of the Tambour so unique. If the limited edition is a pure concentrate of what made it so unparalleled, it also sports brand new features that will make it stand out among the best. collectors, “says Jean Arnault, Marketing and Product Development Director of Louis Vuitton watches.
“For me, in addition to celebrating our anniversary, this watch is the pioneer of Haute Horlogerie, while always remaining faithful to Louis Vuitton’s values of creativity, craftsmanship and excellence.”
The Tambour Twenty sports the same original and instantly recognizable case, whose unique shape is inspired by the watch barrel, known in English as the “drum”. The timepiece stands out for its larger profile at the base than at the top which gives it a feeling of robustness and reliability. In the iconic model with a diameter of 41.5 mm there are twelve letters that form the name “L OU I SVU ITTO N” and indicate the position of the hours, just like in the 2002 version. This collector’s edition also features the refined base of the brown dial with brushed finish, along which the long yellow chronograph hand insinuates, a reference to the thread that has always been used in leather sewing.
The Tambour Twenty, which is water resistant to 100m, shows the time with a high-frequency LV277 in-house movement, based on the iconic Zenith EI Primero, the first automatic chronograph in history. The caliber boasts a 22-karat gold rotor and a 50-hour power reserve with an accuracy to the tenth of a second. A real collector’s item made in just 200 pieces, as specified on the engraved caseback, the Tambour Twenty is also available with an iconic Louis Vuitton element: a miniature trunk in Monogram canvas. A tribute to the founding value of the Maison, the art of travel, which allows you to protect the most precious objects in timeless trunks.
Time, although unstoppable, has rapidly consolidated Louis Vuitton’s creative genius in elaborating exclusive models of rare beauty and pure technology with ever greater mastery.
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