Not sure if you’ve noticed, but Louis Vuitton latest watches are straight-up fire. The maison opened 2025 with a phenomenal slate of LVMH Watch Week novelties. Obviously the main highlight that wowed everyone was the Tambour Convergence — read our in-depth review here. But you definitely should not sleep on the new Tambour Taiko Spin Time collection either. Then just weeks before Watches & Wonders 2025, the maison pulled the velvet off its latest indie collab, the Louis Vuitton x Kari Voutilainen LVKV-02 GMR 6, which is an absolute stunner — see Revo founder Wei Koh’s interview with Jean Arnault here. And now the fashion giant is back with more horological masterpieces. Ladies and gents, it’s time to dive into the Louis Vuitton High Watchmaking 2025 collection.

Louis Vuitton High Watchmaking 2025: Tambour Bushido Automata

With the Tambour Bushido Automata, Louis Vuitton continues to build upon a narrative that began in 2021. That year the maison introduced a most captivating (albeit macabre) timepiece, the Tambour Carpe Diem, which offers a contemporary take on the jacquemart complication. Next, Louis Vuitton revisited this mechanism in 2023, crafting a unique piece for Only Watch but this time paying homage to the father of modern day physics, Albert Einstein. Read up about this watch and other unique pieces for Only Watch here. In the same year, the maison introduced the Tambour Opera Automata inspired by the traditional Chinese art of bian lian.

Tambour Bushido Automata incorporates artisanal crafts all around the dial and case

For the earlier creations, Louis Vuitton called upon the specialist skills of master enameller Anita Porchet as well as master engraver Dick Steenman, along with the horological ingenuity of La Fabrique du Temps master watchmakers Michel Navas and Enrico Barbasini. Notably since 2024, Steenman has been appointed Director of Métiers d’Arts at La Fabrique du Temps, specifically overseeing the manufacture’s métiers d’arts division now known as La Fabrique des Arts.

As such, the latest Tambour jacquemart to join this small but growing family of watches is also the most elaborately decorated one. Louis Vuitton Tambour Bushido Automata is a visual feast not just around the dial but also the entire case and case back. Bushido in Japanese means the way of the warrior. It is a code of conduct and philosophy that guided the Samurai class in feudal Japan — yes, just like the FX television series Shōgun. Key to the bushido code was the mask, a crucial part of the samurai’s armor, worn during battle to strike fear and maintain anonymity.

Handcrafted by La Fabrique des Arts

Each element of the warrior had been painstakingly crafted by the artisans of La Fabrique des Arts, taking 140 hours in total just for the engraving alone. Then there is the various different types of enamelwork which was accomplished in-house, altogether requiring 120 hours of hand work. Steenman and his team labored over the warrior’s helmet known as a kabuto. This piece was sculpted in rose gold and then fired at a high temperature with a calamine (zinc ore) mixture, yielding a layer of black carbonaceous residue. The layer is subsequently polished off at the edges to reveal the underlying gold, which remains completely unblemished.

Handcrafting the Japanese warrior kabuto helmet

Perched atop the kabuto helmet is a mythical creature known as a yokai, carved by hand with maximum precision. Traditionally, kabuto helmets feature a small decoration on the front called a maedate and many warriors favour designs depicting a yokai to help intimidate their enemies.

Likewise, the warrior’s mask has been meticulously sculpted to evoke realistic detail and contouring. Known as the menpo, the mask is crafted out of white gold using the bas-relief technique where the desired motif is carved into a flat surface to give the final artwork a raised, three-dimensional effect. Thereafter, it is painted over with two layers of red enamel and finished with a third layer that provides a matte, almost antique-like effect. The samurai’s eye was done in a combination of cloisonné enamel and paillonné enamel. Tiny flecks of gold leaf juxtaposed with blue enamel for a final flourish. And his teeth, glistening against the light, look exceedingly naturalistic, as they are sculpted from mother-of-pearl.

Application of the hand-engraved gold yokai

Enamelworking continues in the helmet’s neck protector which is swathed in black and dotted with the famed LV monogram marked in red. Red and black enamel painting also appears inside the mouth of the samurai depicting the Japanese characters for bushido written in Kanji.

Next, the traditional knot under the mask has also been crafted with utmost care. Steenman’s team managed to carve out of gold something that exudes pliancy and softness, and that which was painted over with red enamel and fired successively to achieve a velvet-like finish.

Vividly portrayed, even the miniature katana is full of details

Detailed In-House Enamel and Engraving

All of the enamelwork in the Tambour Bushido Automata was done in-house by la Fabrique des Arts, including all the work done around the case. Everything is set on a golden shimmering backdrop crafted using the paillonné technique. This time the artisan worked on a base of pink enamel, setting it with silver leaf rather than gold. Next, two layers of translucent enamel is applied in order to create a warm, golden effect. Lastly, the entire surface is covered with fondant enamel for a final glistening finish. And positioned at the back is a view of Mount Fuji against a red rising sun, where the peak is painted in white enamel while the slope was given a subtle gradation of darker tones to emphasize its majestic nature.

The dial is decorated with silver leaf applied over a base of pink enamel

The vast artisanal range of La Fabrique des Arts stretches into the Tambour’s ample case proportions, engraved to depict a scenic view of Mount Fuji and a rising sun adorned with the Louis Vuitton Monogram Flower. A plethora of different textures and finishes are at play here.

The case in pink gold is fully decorated with red enamel and hand-engraving

First, the scene is backdropped by splendidly hammered surfaces painted over with translucent red enamel. The enamel fills up all the crevices and then goes under the fire. Because the surface is curved rather than flat, and hammered with thousands of little dents, this process is extremely risky, with the chance of breakage always a definite possibility.

Depicting a warrior’s journey across Japan

And yet the artisans of La Fabrique des Arts have prevailed. The entire process takes up 200 hours of work.

The bezel as well is masterfully decorated with elegant linear striations and clouds that seem to drift from the bezel to the case and onward as they approach the pusher at 2 o’clock sculpted in the form of a yokai. Press on it to set the automaton in motion as this video demonstrates.

Tech Specs: Tambour Bushido Automata

Movement: Manual-winding La Fabrique du Temps Caliber LV 525; 100-hour power reserve
Functions: Automata mechanism featuring five animations, jumping hours, retrograde minutes, and power reserve display
Case: 46.8mm x 14.4mm; 18K pink gold, push-piece set with two rubies, water resistant to 30m
Dial: Handcrafted paillonné enamel, cloisonné enamel and miniature enamel techniques, handcrafted engraving
Strap: Red calfskin strap with pink gold double folding buckle
Price: EUR 696,000 (excl. taxes)

Louis Vuitton High Watchmaking 2025: Tambour Taiko Galactique

Travel has always been a consistent theme at Louis Vuitton as the maison seeks inspiration from all places far and wide — and even to outermost limits. But this was no 10-minute joyride into space. In fact, as early as in 2009, Louis Vuitton celebrated the 40^th anniversary of the first moon landing by bringing together three astronauts in its famous “A Journey Beyond“ campaign. In 2021, to mark the 200^th anniversary of the birth of its brand founder, the house presented an extraordinary Tambour Jacquemart Minute Repeater with cathedral gongs, whose dial paid tribute to the theme of space odysseys.

So its latest tribute to our universe is the Tambour Taiko Galactique, a watch that embodies the very best of La Fabrique du Temps both in terms of mechanical complexity and artisanal depth.

A contemporary take on a jacquemart minute repeater

Like the Tambour Jacquemart Minute Repeater 200^th Years, this new high watchmaking timepiece combines a minute repeater complication with seven automata mechanisms that brim with life in tandem with the chimes. The hammers strike on cathedral gongs which encircle the movement twice for a more sonorous, rounded musical quality, while providing the hours, quarters and minutes on demand.

The movement, however, is completely different. Caliber LFT AU14.02 was specially created for the Tambour Taiko Galactique, necessitating 220 hours of work to assemble all 459 components. Pushing the slider on the side of the case simultaneously engages the strike train and the automata triggering nine moving elements around the dial.

Caliber LFT AU14.02 comprises 459 parts, requiring 220 hours to assemble

All at once, the astronaut begins to hover in place, waving his big saffron-hued LV flag with one hand while keeping balance with the other. The satellite’s antenna, solar panels and thruster burst into action while two shooting stars begin hurtling past the surface of the moon. The sun rotates as it casts bright beams of light like the gigantic fireball that it is. Everything moves at different speeds and that helped capture an air of realism throughout the entire performance.

Four Different Enamel Techniques

Utilizing the full breadth of savoir-faire within La Fabrique des Arts, Steenman’s team once again took charge of the engraving work. The astronaut and the flag, the satellite, the stars and the sun were all crafted in white gold. “The stars and the flag were hand-engraved, while the astronaut and the satellite were specially sculpted by our master engraver to create an impression of volume,” says Matthieu Hegi, Artistic Director of La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton. “The extreme finesse of the elements that animate the dial is remarkable. In order to convey weightlessness and give depth to the scene, we played with colors, with a sky that gradually darkens and planets of different sizes arranged asymmetrically.”

The moving automata are handcrafted in white gold and hand-painted with miniature enamel

La Fabrique des Arts’ master engraver Dick Steenman oversaw all hand-engraving work

Taking over from the engravers, the enamel painters have also done an incredible job bringing this dial to life, using no fewer than four different traditional enamel techniques. Miniature painting was used for the planet Earth, done with a combination of orange, green, white and blue across seven different color tones. The artist skilfully captured the nuances of clouds by alternating between blurry and sharp brushstrokes, as well as variations on blue tones. Enhancing the depth of field, the artist darkened the farthest side of the planet Earth to add distance and dimension.

Miniature painting creates a beautifully realistic planet Earth

Paillonné enamel brought a fiery glow to the Sun, as yellow gold paillons were carefully applied onto a bed of orange and red enamels. This same technique also added delicate sparkles like distant stars all over the midnight blue dial.

Paillonné enamel creates a blazing fiery Sun

Champlevé enamel was used for the astronaut, painted in white, two tones of blue, red and black. The red Monogram flowers that adorn the astronaut’s suit are hand-painted in miniature. Their small size and the need to apply three layers of enamel demonstrate extreme precision of execution. Ultimately, eight layers give this unique decor a glossy finish.

Champlevé enamel was used for the astronaut

Grisaille enamel was used for the Moon’s surface and its craters. This is where the artist begins with a base of black enamel, and works with successive layers of white enamel to produce a subtle chiaroscuro effect.

Grisaille enamel yielded subtle nuances of the Moon’s surfaces

La Fabrique des Boîtes

So the movement is made by La Fabrique du Temps, the decorations done by La Fabrique des Arts, and the case is made by La Fabrique des Boîtes. Here the maison presents a modernized spin on the Tambour, one that resonates perfectly with the galactic theme on the dial. According to Louis Vuitton the case is crafted in titanium and white gold, where the crown and lugs as well as slide piece are made in white gold, and titanium for the main case component.

Additional design touches allow this timepiece to stand out from its other Tambour siblings. Notably, the hollowed lugs which have alternating mirror-polished and sandblasted surfaces. In addition, the crown is positioned at 12 o’clock — perhaps to stay closer to the cosmic theme, imagining the case as some sort of spacecraft. Meanwhile, the slide piece continues with what the Tambour Jacquemart Minute Repeater started, featuring a row of baguette cut sapphires and topazes in varying saturations of blue.

Sapphires and topazes set into the slide-piece

Obviously when you turn the watch around, a completely different spectacle awaits, one that is however no less mesmerizing. Bridges are harmoniously designed, their curvilinear shapes perfectly congruous with the galactic theme. Circular Côtes de Genève finishing alternating with grainé finishing. Once the hammers are in motion, they strike on square gongs encircling the movement twice, and an enormous mainspring under the openworked barrel cover provides 100 hours of power reserve.

The case features hollowed lugs in white gold on a titanium case

Tech Specs: Tambour Taiko Galactique

Movement: Manual-winding La Fabrique du Temps Caliber LFT AU14.02; 100-hour power reserve
Functions: Automata mechanism featuring seven animations, minute repeater, hours and minutes
Case: 46.7mm x 14.6mm; titanium and 18K white gold, slide-piece set with baguette-cut sapphires and topazes, water resistant to 30m
Dial: Handcrafted paillonné enamel, cloisonné enamel and miniature enamel techniques, handcrafted engraving
Strap: Blue rubber strap with 18K white gold double folding buckle
Price: EUR 1,000,000 (excl. taxes)

Louis Vuitton High Watchmaking 2025: Escale en Amazonie Pocket Watch

Once reserved only for special orders, pocket watches at Louis Vuitton are now making slightly more regular appearances. Last September the maison unveiled Escale à Asnières, its first publicly presented pocket watch, which sojourned to the historic home of Louis Vuitton just outside of Paris. As the first piece in the Louis Vuitton Escale Autour du Monde collection, it was the perfect starting point for the Escale pocket watch series, given that Escale in English means ‘stopover’ and Autour du Monde means to tour around the world. Criss-crossing the globe in search of new adventures, the collection returns this year, landing smack in the middle of the Amazone Rainforest with Escale en Amazonie.

The second pocket watch by Louis Vuitton is also the most complicated watch the maison has ever done

Escale Autour de Monde

No matter where in the world the Escale pocket watch has landed, it is always certain to travel in style. And traveling in style in the context of Louis Vuitton always involves its signature travel trunks. In the Escale à Asnières they are stacked high on an elegant horse-drawn carriage, and in the Escale en Amazonie, they are neatly arranged on a traditional wooden canoe called a pirogue. Pirogues are the primary form of transportation used by indigenous communities of the Amazon River. Also ever present in the Escale Autour du Monde pocket watches is a spinning gold compass in the shape of the Louis Vuitton star.

A wooden pirogue hand-engraved in gold, loaded with elegant miniature travel trunks

Yet Escale en Amazonie is a force unto itself. It is the most complicated watch made by Louis Vuitton to date. The maison took 2.5 years to create this watch and a grand total of 1,000 hours of work by expert watchmakers, enamellers, and engravers. More impressively, everything was crafted internally at La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton. The case was made by La Fabrique des Boîtiers, the movement by La Fabrique des Mouvements, and the mesmerizing nature-themed dial by La Fabrique des Arts. Collectively, these three different aspects of Escale en Amazonie showcase the immense horological savoir-faire now mastered by Louis Vuitton.

Caliber LFT AU14.03 with tourbillon, minute repeater, jacquemarts and 8 days power reserve

Mechanical Mastery and Flawless Finishing

To say that La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton has outdone itself is no overstatement. This watch is stunning on both sides, front and back, for different reasons. The movement within, Caliber LFT AU14.03 has been created expressly for this watch, and like the aforementioned Tambour Taiko Galactique, combines a minute repeater with the jacquemart complication. But Escale en Amazonie one-ups the latter by adding a tourbillon to the mix, and its movement finishing is quite simply, the most exquisite ever done by Louis Vuitton.

Solid gold wheels and gold prongs for the movement’s jewels

For not only is the movement extra complex with a total of 555 components, its design and architecture echo that of historic pocket watches, primarily with the use of finger bridges for the tourbillon and the gear wheels which are incidentally crafted in solid gold. A single watchmaker worked on the movement’s assembly from start to finish, and meticulously finishes every element with extreme attention to detail. Most notably, the dedication paid to all of the movement’s internal angles is simply amazing. The bevelling work was done on all 646 internal angles, highlighting the edges of the bridges and also the teeth on the wheels. Some of those components took up to 10 hours to finish.

Sharp internal angles showcase true hand finishing and expert bevelling

Apart from bevelling of the bridges, the movement features a number of classically beloved finishing techniques. Snailing on the barrel, hand-engraving on the bridges, mirror-polishing on many components such as the screws, gongs, tourbillon carriage and ratchet. There is also Côtes de Genève on the bridges and plates, as well traditional flame-blued leaf-shaped hands. The barrel ratchet in particular took three weeks to finish given its concave profile. For the first time Louis Vuitton uses yellow gold prongs for the movement jewels. And in total the movement required 500 hours to assemble and hand-finish, reflecting the very best of La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton’s masterful savoir-faire.

Openworked leaf-shaped hands obscure nothing of this exquisitely finished movement

La Fabrique des Arts: Hand-Engraving

Depicting a snapshot of an extraordinary scene in the heart of the Amazon Rainforest, the dial is a dazzling showcase of automata wizardry and métiers d’arts mastery. Pull and release the slide-piece at 6 o’clock to set the scene in motion.

The pirogue glides gently down the river while the Louis Vuitton travel trunks open to reveal three Monogram flowers. The parrots flap their scarlet wings and cock their heads in curiosity. A snake looks on, head and tail swinging languorously. A monkey approaches cautiously, moving along an overhanging vine. Altogether seven automata animations move 15 elements on the dial, each with its own motion and pace.

The maison spent 2.5 years in total producing this masterpiece, a grand total of 1,000 hours of work by expert artisans

To realize the iconic Amazonian wildlife in miniature was no walk in the park. Despite their minuscule proportions, the craftspeople at La Fabrique des Arts delivered some of the most intricate mini sculptures. The snake for instance, not even a centimeter long, is crafted with hundreds of scales across its body. The parrots have their feathers so carefully engraved they almost flutter with the wind. Their claws as well, are incredibly lifelike. And according to Louis Vuitton, the most challenging component on this dial was the canoe.

Sculpting the snake in white gold, chiseling its scales individually by hand

This is because the artisan had to chisel the gold at various depths to give it a naturalistic wood bark effect. Each element took the artisans 140 hours to craft, while the case which is also engraved with a traditional Amazonian motif added another 60 hours of handcraftsmanship.

Each moving automaton moves at its own pace and cadence

La Fabrique des Arts: Hand-Painted Enamel

The sheer amount of horological depth put forth by Escale en Amazonie is simply staggering, and its enamel work is absolutely mind-blowing. La Fabrique des Arts used only two enamel techniques, paillonné and miniature painting, to capture the lush beauty of the Amazon Rainforest.

To really bring out the naturalistic scenery and rich vegetation of the jungle, the artisan used a total of 31 colors across varying hues of green, blue, brown and white. In addition, three types of enamel were used: translucent, opaque and opalescent. These offered a variation on light transmission, which in turn yields brilliance and depth over different parts of the dial.

Miniature painting for the stunning backdrop of lush jungle scenery and a majestic waterfall

Miniature painting covers the entire dial which appears to stretch deep into the distance, culminating in a majestic waterfall shrouded with nothing but greenery. See how the colors have been expertly blended and applied with a blurred effect to evoke the cascading falls. Up close, palm trees were painstakingly rendered where the leaflets were all individually painted in varying shades of light and dark greens. And in the foreground, the canoe and its lone passenger travels through the river, here depicted in a glittering golden hue using the paillonné technique.

Paillonné enamel added a glowing shimmer to the river studded with Louis Vuitton Monogram flowers

Here, the artisan combines shimmering enamel with gold leaf to create an almost fantastical river of gold and LV Monogram flowers. Ultimately, no fewer than 30 firings were required to achieve the dial’s precise, vibrant and nuanced tones.

Enamel Painting In Three Dimension

In addition to the dial, each automaton component was also decorated with miniature painting. Bear in mind that these are all objects of extra tiny proportions. As such, the enamel painter walked an extra fine tightrope, painted with extreme precision. This is important because had there been any part of the enamel which is too thick, then the movement of the automaton would certainly have been impeded. Unlike the dial, these are completely three-dimensional components. The enamel painter has to be very careful not to allow the enamel to drip or pool in the wrong areas.

Exquisite enamelling work on the moving automata

Yet in other areas, thickness in the enamel was vital. For instance, the monkey’s rounded, delightful face was achieved by coating seven colors of precisely applied enamel paint at the desired level of thickness.

Bringing a miniature monkey to life with color and volumes

The enamel painter’s skill also writs large in the use of red enamel for the parrot’s feathers. It must be noted that bright red enamel is among the most fragile of enamel colors, calling for inordinate amounts of patience and experience to succeed. Then there is the exquisite use of miniature translucent enamel. A total of five layers of this enamel were applied to the leaves in order to bring out intricate details such as the veins. Additionally, four layers of translucent enamel were applied on the snake across a subtle graduation of colors to imbue a glossy, reptilian appearance.

Scarlet red macaws crafted with striking detail

One last point to add about the Escale en Amazonie specific to enamel painting is that even the sapphire crystal on the front is painted with enamel. At the 4 o’clock position, lush green foliage add an extra layer of depth — and intrigue as it shields a part of the dial below. This feature required five layers of miniature enamel painted on the sapphire crystal, which has never before been done at Louis Vuitton and indeed in the industry. This is possibly the greatest test of an enamel painter’s prowess because enamel paint on sapphire crystal is especially precarious. Once it enters the oven, the color is immediately permanent, requiring perfect application on the first attempt and no room for error.

Enamelling on the underside of the sapphire crystal adds depth and dimension

The Escale en Amazonie pocket watch is gem-set with 60 baguette-cut stones. Emeralds, tsavorites, tourmalines and yellow sapphires perfectly match the color gradations of the dial, adding a touch of sparkle on a watch that is already deeply precious on all fronts. It is delivered in a bespoke Louis Vuitton trunk and a nifty doctor’s style bag crafted in an exclusive rare, green leather matching the watch.

Tech Specs: Escale en Amazonie Pocket Watch

Movement: Manual-winding La Fabrique du Temps Caliber LFT AU14.03; 8 days power reserve
Functions: Jacquemart mechanism with seven animations, minute repeater, tourbillon, hours and minutes
Case: 50 x 19mm; 18K white gold, bezel set with colored stones, domed sapphire crystal with enamel and anti-reflective treatment, water resistant to 30m
Dial: Handcrafted paillonné enamel and miniature enamel techniques, handcrafted engraving
Strap: Handcrafted 18K white gold chain, delivered with special high watchmaking bag and trunk
Price: EUR 3,000,000 (excl. taxes)