Style Edit: Louis Vuitton’s Tambour has been reimagined as a sleek sports watch, thanks to the new LFT023 movement created at the brand’s own Geneva watchmaking factory
For more than 20 years, the Tambour has been the heart and soul of Louis Vuitton’s watch collection, showcasing the redoubtable horological expertise that the Parisian luxury maison has built up over recent decades. With a striking contemporary design, Louis Vuitton’s signature drum-shaped watch has aged beautifully since it was introduced in 2002, but that hasn’t stopped the maison from constantly refining its look to keep it fresh for new generations of fans.
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Over the years it’s seen numerous new iterations, from the Tambour Twenty, released last year for the collection’s 20th anniversary, with its pleasingly retro brown dial and highlighter-yellow accents, to the remarkable Tambour Horizon Light Up connected watch, with its digital connectivity and daring array of different graphical dials enlivened with an LED light display.
Now, though, the collection has really taken a step into new territory. The latest version of the Tambour involves an extensive redesign, with a slimmer profile, a steel case and an integrated bracelet that pushes it into sophisticated sports-watch territory – a smart new look that builds on the classic codes of the Tambour to effortlessly combine the best of tradition and modernity. A time-only version of the watch that strips out the bells and whistles and puts the emphasis firmly on simplicity, functionality and elegance, it’s perhaps the most classical-looking watch produced by Louis Vuitton, which is known for its commitment to horological innovation.
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A unisex watch with a diameter of 40mm, the new Tambour is just 8.3mm thick, sitting snugly around the wrist; it also comes with a contoured base, rather than the more typical flat one, allowing it to hug the wrist even more tightly and providing comfort reminiscent of a leather strap. The 12 letters of the words “Louis Vuitton” are spelled out around the edge of the bezel where it slopes elegantly into the case.
The new watch comes in two versions, with a grey or blue dial – the former echoing the colour of the case and the latter contrasting with it, with both lightening to a subtly different shade in the centre. Two concentric circles sit around the outside of those dials, one featuring the minutes track and the other the hour indications, while partly inside them and partly intersecting with the latter is another circle at 6 o’clock, this one featuring a small seconds indication. Ensuring maximum legibility, the five numerals and tapered, faceted, openworked gold hands are treated with Super-LumiNova photoluminescent pigments.
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At the heart of the watch beats LFT023, a micro-rotor, chronometer-certified calibre that is the first automatic three-hand movement designed by Louis Vuitton. It was created in partnership with movement experts Le Cercle des Horlogers at La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton, the brand’s watchmaking factory in Geneva that has helped it revolutionise its horological credentials and capabilities. The new Tambour represents the latest and greatest achievement of that atelier: a watch that firmly establishes Louis Vuitton as a serious player in the world of classically styled, beautifully realised timepieces.
- Marrying tradition and modernity, the latest Tambour is the epitome of pared-down sophistication, and follows last year’s retro 20th anniversary model, the Tambour Twenty
- The LFT023, a micro-rotor, chronometer-certified calibre, is Louis Vuitton’s first automatic three-hand movement, created in partnership with Le Cercle des Horlogers