To celebrate the Tambour, a watch that is considered a trailblazer, La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton has created an exclusive anniversary model: the Tambour Twenty. A limited edition of 200 pieces, it pays homage to the original Tambour model. The case, which resembles a drum, creates a symbolic link between music and the rhythm of time.
Over two decades, Louis Vuitton has combined the Tambour‘s style signature with numerous types of watches. This includes a range of different models and complications, from diving watches to minute repeaters to flying tourbillons bearing the Geneva seal.
The Tambour Twenty has a drum-shaped case, which gives it a robust and reliable character thanks to its deep, broadening form. The 41.5 mm diameter case engraves the twelve letters of the company, “Louis Vuitton”, above the numerals and hour-markers, just like the first Tambour Automatique GMT exactly twenty years ago.
The launch of this watch also marked the opening of the Louis Vuitton workshop in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. The polished stainless-steel case measures 13.20 mm in height, making only slightly taller than Zenith El Primero models. The limited edition model is water resistant up to 10 bar.
The Tambour Twenty features a brown dial with sunburst finishing. The three subdials and the angled flange are also brown. Silver-coloured hour numerals at 12, 2, 4, 6 and 8 o’clock, as well as silver-coloured baton-shaped hour markers, make the dial easy to read and leave plenty of space for the subdials.
A long yellow central chronograph seconds hand adorns the classic Louis Vuitton brown dial – a nod to the yellow thread used in leather stitching in the past. The yellow hands at 3 and 6 o’clock indicate the elapsed chronograph time up to 30 minutes and 12 hours respectively. Furthermore, an inscription in yellow, reading ‘TWENTY’, curves across the lower half. The date window, with a black background and white numerals, lies between 4 and 5 o’clock.
The rotor of the Tambour Twenty is made of 22-carat rose gold, driving the automatic LV 227 movement with its 31 jewels. The Louis Vuitton manufacture calibre uses Zenith’s El Primero high-frequency movement as its base. The El Primero, meaning “the first”, is a historically significant movement that was launched in 1969 and heralded the era of the first automatic chronograph.
The automatic movement of the Tambour Twenty beats at an impressive frequency of 5 Hz/36,000 vibrations per hour, and offers a robust power reserve of 50 hours. It is accurate to within a tenth of a second.
The Tambour Twenty is a limited edition model of 200 pieces that celebrates an important milestone in watchmaking at the Maison Louis Vuitton. What will be particularly of interest to collectors is that the model comes in a timeless box in Louis Vuitton’s signature pattern and a dark brown aligator leather strap. Alternatively, one can opt for a light-coloured leather strap. The price is 14,000 euros including VAT.
