Tambour marks Louis Vuitton’s 20 years of watchmaking

SYNONYMOUS with high fashion, the 168-year-old French luxury brand Louis Vuitton has led the trends in leather goods, apparel, footwear, jewellery and more. But in the past 20 years, it has also added the label of watchmaker to its accomplishments, with the Tambour now enjoying iconic status among the label’s stable of coveted collectibles.

Unveiled in 2002, Louis Vuitton’s Tambour timepieces are not only on par fashion-wise, they are much sought-after by watch aficionados enamoured of its signature drum-shaped case and applied horns.

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Tambour, Louis Vuitton, which is owned by the LVMH conglomerate, has released the Tambour Twenty. This chronograph timepiece — only 200 pieces are available — pays homage to the first Tambour, a GMT.

Speaking of the new anniversary watch, Jean Arnault, the marketing and development director for Louis Vuitton watches, says: “Watch enthusiasts will recognise all the features that made the Tambour’s design so unique. While this limited edition is a true concentrate of everything that made this watch stand out, it also boasts brand-new features that will set it apart for collectors.”

Of course, the timepiece has the same unique and instantly recognisable case of the Tambour, though its case is larger at 41.5 millimetres wide – the case of the original Tambour was 39.5mm. Like the 2002 version, the 12-lettered name “Louis Vuitton” is engraved on the stainless steel case sides of the new model, with one letter opposite each hour marker.

The brown dial of the watch is sun-brushed and the long yellow chronograph hand is a nod to the thread historically used in leatherwork. The 2 elegant sub-dials also make a comeback in the Tambour Twenty.

The watch is water-resistant to 100 metres and, just as the original, is powered by a self-winding movement. This one, though, is a high-frequency La Fabrique du Temps LV 277 calibre based on the Zenith El Primero, the world’s first automatic chronograph mechanism. The movement has been customised with a 22K pink gold rotor. Both the La Fabrique du Temps and Zenith brands are owned by the LVMH Group.

A collectible timepiece that comes in a mini version of the the famous Louis Vuitton trunk in Monogram canvas, Tambour Twenty is also a reminder of the multiple Tambour models rolled out in the past 2 decades, including upsized versions (45mm), slim versions, a flying tourbillon, minute repeater and more.

In the Tambour Spin Time introduced in 2009, time display was reinvented when rotating cubes replaced clock hands and indexes. Five years later saw the launch of a very masculine Tambour Evolution, which boasted a large 45mm case. The Tambour then went on a diet and reappeared in 2016 in the Tambour Slim, a gravity-defying tourbillon that’s sleek and discreet when strapped on the wrist. In 2020, the Tambour Curve came with a titanium and Carbostratum (Registered) case, proving that Louis Vuitton is not afraid to travel in new high-tech material directions.

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Two prizes handed out last year by the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Geneve, the watch industry’s equivalent to Hollywood’s Academy Awards, finally signalled the Tambour’s entry into the high horology club. The Tambour Carpe Diem, inspired by a symbolic work of art that uses skulls to depict the transience of life and certainty of death, won the GPHG Audacity Prize. The Tabour Street won the Diver’s Watch Prize.

The Tambour has also ventured into the virtual world. This year, a 3rd generation Tambour Horizon Light Up model was unveiled. Not only is this connected watch bright, travel-friendly and playful, it’s also fully customisable.

Price of Tambour Twenty: US$17,800 (S$24,920).