Introducing: The New Louis Vuitton Tambour, Completely Reimagined As An Integrated Steel Sports Watch (Video)

The Louis Vuitton Tambour was first released in 2002, making it old enough to drink in the United States. It’s a modern watch design that many don’t realize is already 21 years old, but it is – and it has also come to define the foundation behind the designs of Louis Vuitton watches over time. With Jean Arnault aboard LV watches, we have come to expect change within the brand’s thinking and output. Thus far, we have seen that take place on the periphery, where the brand’s watchmaking arm, La Fabrique du Temps, has aided in the revival of the storied independent brand Daniel Roth and Gérald Genta’s namesake.

Today, that all changes as Arnault puts his stamp on Luis Vuitton with a new foundational watch for the next era of the brand. You’re seeing the first photos of the Luis Vuitton Tambour Steel. Yes, it’s still called the Tambour, but in reality, it’s a whole new thing.

Just look at it, and you get a sense of what the Arnault and La Fabrique du Temps are going for here. The last few years have seen a focus on high horology – automata, and such. And while that continues to be a core component of the brand, this new watch has its sights set on the integrated bracelet sports watch market and looks to do so with an inherent design code born of the two-decades-old Tambour.

In many ways, this might be the most conventional-looking LV watch we’ve ever seen. It’s a brand known for the avante garde – and while there is plenty of that to be found here, this feels akin to what Bulgari did with the Octo Finissimo: re-contextualize a brand known more outside of the watch space, and bring it closer inside with a new centerpiece collection. In some ways, you feel a little bit of Lange Odysseus energy creeping through, especially in the way both brands bent the integrated styling to their will, creating a distinctive look. 

And that’s what this new Tambour is all about. It speaks to the direction of the brand and of a leader who understands what the market is looking for right now. But there are a lot of integrated sports watches out there; why should we care about this one?

Well, for starters, it’s the first in a new line of watches that is sure to see updates and releases in all manner of metals. But those will never be the first. Second is the fact that LV took a concept that works, but has made it in a way that feels at peace with the brand’s overall design methodology, which makes it special in its own right. So let’s take a look at how that comes together.

You have a 40mm case size measuring a svelte 8.3mm thick. The Tambour has long been known as a drum case shape, that idea including its rotund depth. That definition is no more when it comes to this new model. Instead, thinness is the MO with the case specifically designed for ergonomics, meaning that the underside isn’t completely flat, but rather contours to the wrist, which strikes me as the sort of detail a watch enthusiast (which we know Arnault to be) would include in such a monumental release. Lest we forget that this is also a time-only design. The edges of the case, on the sloped portions of the bezel, spell our Louis Vuitton in a nod to Tambour heritage – yet another way LV is infusing a known style of watch (the integrated steel sport variety) with its own unique touches.

Moving inward we find a dial design that again speaks to a certain kind of aesthetic inherent to Louis Vuitton. It’s not cribbing from an earlier model, and I actually think it’s brand new in a lot of ways, but still, it feels specific to the brand. You get these sectors moving inward creating an array of circular enclosures that includes the small-seconds display. The applied Arabic numerals appear to utilize a similar typographical style to that of the existing Tambour but are made more impactful with the raised application and lumed interior. In terms of text, we are left with, simply, Louis Vuitton Paris and Fab. En Suisse (both a nod to La Fabrique du Temps and vintage Fab. Suisse dials). At launch, there will be two dial color options, blue and grey.

The grey dial variation provides greater contrast with an almost white center color with vertical brushing. In this configuration, the numerals manage to emerge from the dial prominently despite the overall tone-on-tone aesthetic.

Moving onward to the bracelet, you’ll likely see that this is a case with no lugs – an attribute consistent with older Tambour models. But those watches always had straps with end-link style attachments to the case that mimicked the look of a lug in some respects. With the inclusion of this new bracelet, the entire watch takes on a distinct sleekness that really works with a massively slimmed-down Tambour.

With this launch, we seek to open a new chapter in the history of the Maison’s watchmaking by creating a watch with strong horological credentials while identifiably Louis Vuitton in style.

Jean Arnault, Watch director, Louis Vuitton

The bracelet brings an almost Art Deco vibe to the entire package here, combining brushed and polished finishes. Its seamless affixture to the case is not dissimilar to how the Apple Watch attaches to its bracelets. And maybe having that familiarity is by design.

Inside this watch beats the LFT023, a micro-rotor, chronometer-certified caliber conceived by Michel Navas and Enrico Barbasisni of La Fabrique du Temps. And while it’s a first in the sense that it was made for this specific novelty, it goes much further than that alone. This new caliber is the first proprietary automatic three-hand movement designed by Louis Vuitton – which did so in conjunction with movement specialists Le Cercle des Horlogers. The micro-rotor is done in high-inertia 22k gold, and the movement itself carries 50 hours of power reserve with a beat rate of 4Hz. It is certified by the Geneva Chronometric Observatory and is accurate to -4s and +6s per day.

This new Tambour is the sort of watch designed to speak to watch lovers old and new. One cohort may see the four-decades-old tradition of integrated steel sports watches and understand the significance of Louis Vuitton joining in that. Another cohort – one newer to high-end horology – might see a piece of luxury from one of the most recognizable brands in the world with design codes reminiscent of a digital object they use daily. The new Tambour has multitudes, with internal mechanical bona fides to back it up. And, if nothing else, it is an empirically good-looking timepiece.

It also bears focusing on the impact of making a Tambour so thin. It dramatically alters the profile of the watch and makes this new integrated variation its own thing. At about €19,000 at launch, this watch competes with the like of a Chopard Alpine Eagle XPS (with the LUC movement and small-seconds display), which is good company to keep.

This, for sure, won’t be the last we see of this design – likely not even the last we see of it this year. Just how much impact will it have? Only time will tell. I personally cannot wait to get my hands on one of these soon.

The Louis Vuitton Tambour Steel W1ST10, 40mm x 8.3mm, small seconds subdial at six o’clock. White gold hands, numerals, and indexes, with Super-LumiNova coating on hands and numerals. Sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating. Stainless steel bracelet with hidden 3-blade folding buckle. Automatic caliber LFT023, 30.6mm x 4.2mm visible through exhibition sapphire caseback. Functions: hours, minutes, small seconds. 22K rose gold micro-rotor, 50 hours of power reserve, 31 jewels, beats at 4Hz, chronometer-certified by the Geneva Chronometric Observatory. Grey or blue dial, water resistant to 30m. Price: €19,000. 

Video produced in collaboration with Converge Productions.

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For more on the new Tambour, visit Louis Vuitton online. 

Louis Vuitton is part of the LVMH Watch Group. Although LVMH Luxury Ventures is a minority investor in HODINKEE, we maintain complete editorial independence.

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