The new Tambour is given a new aeon with the spirit of high watchmaking.
In the year 2002, Louis Vuitton unveiled their second timepiece, the Tambour, which in English means drum. It was the beginning of the fashion house's first foray into the world of horology, it was also around the time when the whole world was awakened by the drumbeat of the revival of the mechanical watch.
Tambour was called such obviously due to the unique design of its case, which is a shape of a drum. When it was first unveiled, it caused quite a stir mainly because it is a highly crafted mechanical watch by a fashion brand, and the feelings were mixed. Regardless, it quietly gained iconic status over the decades, as numerous iterations of complications have been bestowed in its drum-like body and were memorable as many movements were created by the uber-talented team at Le Fabrique du Temp.
21 years on, Tambour has grown up, more complex and sophisticated, but still young and full of vitality at heart. This year marked the beginning of a new era for Tambour, adhering to its original DNA, it still bears the drum body but the playful and vibrant outlook has given way to a more classic and yet far from being sober. The new Tambour looks sporty and modern, cleaner and has a cleverly crafted dial with 3D-like details making it infinitely more interesting and comes in two colour variants, grey and navy blue.
The dial is given a two tones treatment, the centre dial is lighter with a vertical brush finish and the minute chapter ring on the outer flange indented markers with SuperLuminova coated five minutes interval, then applique SuperLuminova Arabic numerals and indexes decorates the hours chapter ring. A small seconds counter sits at six o’clock with contrasting black indexes on a light dial and the hours and minutes are told by a SuperLuminova coated white gold dauphine-like skeleton hands. The dial is framed by a matte-finished bezel with ‘LOUIS VUITTON’ embossed merges and flows with the drum or body of the case accented by a pinstripe that runs around the caseband. The aesthetics of the body and dial compliments each other beautifully; they emphasise the modern classic spirit that is indomitable.
Under or within the sumptuous sophisticated body and simplistic yet complex dial execution, let’s look at the beast that makes the timepiece tick with precision. With a brand-new look and new start, of course, so is the calibre or movement that powers it. Introducing the proprietary Chronometer Certified automatic Calibre LFT023, an engine designed and developed by La Fabrique du Temps, a renowned watchmaking atelier, in conjunction with movement manufacturer Le Cercle des Horlogers, that is wound by a monogram flower decorated rose gold micro-rotor with 50 hours of power reserve. The bridges are exquisitely decorated and finished with micro-sandblast bridges and chamfered edges. All done and executed with modernity in mind. The heart of the calibre emits a 4 Hz frequency of 28,800 vph, which is more than decent power to regulate with precision.
All the marvels are housed in a friendly 40mm stainless case with an integrated steel bracelet, and it sits quite elegantly on one’s wrist, without being absurdly small or gregariously large. It makes a perfect everyday watch that is great for all occasions and one that you will grow to love more each day.
