During an exclusive lunch at Louis Vuitton’s La Fabrique du Temps in Geneva recently, the French brand unveiled its brand-new Tambour Moon Collection featuring a totally new look. “I asked our designers to create a new Tambour Collection to celebrate its 15th anniversary,” explained Hamdi Chatti, CEO Louis Vuitton Watches and Jewelry. “The case is still a perfect circle, with no lugs or steps on the watch’s silhouette, but the profile of the case has changed from convex to concave, which gives it a slimmer look while keeping the beauty of the original design,” he notes.
All the previous convex references remain in the collection, with the addition of several stunning new Tambour Moon concave references for both men and women.
One of the timepieces debuting the new collection is the Louis Vuitton Tambour Moon Flying Tourbillon “Poinçon de Genève” – a new Haute Horlogerie creation showcasing a skeletonized tourbillon movement certified with the prestigious Poinçon de Genève. The flying tourbillon has a delicately open-worked carriage, giving the impression of extreme lightness.
“Most skeletons start with a movement that is already certified by the Poinçon de Genève and then re-worked to remove material, but this movement was created from zero.” explains Chatti. “The Design was extremely important as we wanted to create something contemporary. Poinçon de Genève timepieces have a tendency to be in a very traditional universe and we wanted to create something that would go much further with everything aerial and on full view,” he adds.
Housed in a 42.5mm platinum case, the Tambour Moon Flying Tourbillon “Poinçon de Genève’s” movement appears to magically float inside its case with a new linear architecture that has been structured around the circle. Three circles are arranged in a vertical line with the finely chiseled barrel, with the Louis Vuitton signature, at 12 o’clock; the tourbillon carriage featuring the brand’s Monogram Flower positioned at six o’clock; and a circle with the hour and minute hands in the center. A further circle at nine o’clock offers the client the possibility to personalize his or her timepiece with initials or a family coat of arms.
This is the second Poinçon de Genève timepiece by Louis Vuitton. As a reminder, the brand released its Flying Tourbillon “Poinçon de Genève” last year. This new piece is a clear sign that Louis Vuitton’s Manufacture, La Fabrique de Temps, is set on creating increasingly more technical timepieces, all executed with the Louis Vuitton flair.
For a company that is a cornerstone in Haute Couture and luxury leather goods, Louis Vuitton has successfully reshaped the way watches are viewed in the fashion sphere. In the span of 15 years the Tambour itself has been a banner for this intention.
A number of other Tambour Moon creations are being released at the same time – including a 28mm time-only quartz watch, a 35mm quartz chronograph, a 39.5mm quartz chronograph, a 41.5mm automatic GMT and a 44mm automatic chronograph – all celebrating the Tambour’s “Crystal” anniversary and, of course, Louis Vuitton’s second ever Poniçon de Genève timepiece, a testament to the brand’s high watchmaking endeavor.
