Louis Vuitton Celebrate A 200th Anniversary With The Unique Tambour Jacquemart Minute Repeater
In celebration of 200 years since the one and only Louis Vuitton was born, the brand’s horology house, La Fabrique du Temps, is introducing a unique timepiece. The Tambour Jacquemart Minute Repeater takes its inspiration from humankind’s conquest of space and integrates an array of horological wonders. The watch marks the first time that the maison has endowed a timepiece with an automaton mechanism alongside a cathedral gong minute repeater.
The case
The unique Tambour timepiece comes in the maison’s recognisable drum-shaped case. Cast in white gold and titanium, the timepiece has a sizeable 46.8 mm diameter and is refashioned to evoke a space capsule and astronaut helmet. Meanwhile, its winding crown, interestingly placed at 12 o’clock, is reminiscent of 20th century chiming pocket watches. As always, the bezel bears the ‘LOUIS VUITTON’ signature, also this unusually appears in blue rubber. Various details on the watch are set with gemstones, complementing the deep blue dial.
The dial
The dial of this model is like no other we’ve seen before, whether from La Fabrique du Temps or any other manufacture. Highly creative and beautifully crafted, the dial is not only innovative in horological terms, but also a work of art in its own right. The innovative watchmaker worked alongside two famous artisans, engraver Dick Steenman and enameller Anita Porchet, to bring this unique creation to life.
Anita Porchet combined several techniques, such as enamel miniature painting, to portray the imaginary planet and stars on the dial. Meanwhile, engraver Dick Steenman is responsible for the sculpting of the white-gold moving automaton rocket and planets. In addition, Louis Vuitton coat the open-worked hands with luminescence for 24-hour legibility.
The movement
Powering Louis Vuitton’s ingenious Tambour Jacquemart Minute Repeater is the manual-winding calibre LV200. With Louis Vuitton creating and assembling the complex movement in their Geneva workshop, the manual-winding LV200 requires 480 components in order to provide hours, minutes, as well as the jacquemart function with a cathedral gong minute repeater.
Louis Vuitton integrate a sapphire crystal caseback, allowing the owner to admire the eye-catching blue movement with its fine Côtes de Genève finishing. Beating at a frequency of 3 Hz, the bespoke timepiece has an impressive 100-hour power reserve.
The jacquemart function
Originally, jacquemarts were automatons designed to strike the hour on church bells. When watchmakers miniaturised them on watches, they became essentially decorative, as the time was still traditionally marked by classic hands. The dial of the Tambour Jacquemart Minute Repeater has no less than nine jacquemarts. When the wearer activates the push button, the rocket ‘takes off’, revealing diamond ‘passengers’ in its cockpit. The precious metal planets then rotate, while two shooting stars fly across the dial following the rotation of LV’S monogram flower rotation.
Louis Vuitton combine this visual display with an auditory delight: a cathedral gong minute repeater. Once essential to tell the time at night, the minute repeater still chimes the hours, quarter hours and minutes. The head watchmakers of La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton chose this type of gong to provide a deeper, more solemn sound with a longer-lasting resonance. Furthermore, the watchmakers worked closely alongside the client in order to curate the sound to match the buyer’s personal preference.
Strap and availability
This brings us to availability: the Louis Vuitton Tambour Jacquemart Minute Repeater is a unique bespoke piece. La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton equip the timepiece with a sporty blue rubber strap, and present the watch in an exclusive Louis Vuitton travel box.
July 14, 2016, was a particularly memorable day for Yves Piaget, the fourth and final direct descendant of the founding family of the eponymous watch and jewellery manufacture. For the launch of the Piaget Polo S, he returned to the place where he caused a sensation with a spectacular campaign in 1985, when he was…
Breguet is mixing things up in its Classique Dame collection, introducing the 8068 with a quick strap-change feature for the first time. The Breguet Classique Dame 8068, which comes in either a white- or rose-gold case, allows its wearers to quickly and easily change between an array of colourful straps – thus transforming the aesthetic…
In 2018, Breguet enriches its Grandes Complications collection with a long-awaited addition: This collection now is available with a “Grand Feu” enamel dial. This new Classique Grandes Complications 5367 provides a simple interpretation of the tourbillon and focuses on a minimalist dial as well. The information has been deliberately pared down to essentials in order…
In 2017, the French brand Bell & Ross presented the BR 03-92 Horolum. With its strong luminous material, it was intended to be reminiscent of airport runways. Now comes the BR 05 Horolum, a new version of the series based on the sporty yet chic BR 05 collection. The watch likewise offers readability in all…
Team Luna Rossa, winner of the Prada Cup during the most recent contestfor America’s Cup, is among the top sailing clubs in the world. Now, the long-standing partner of Panerai is uniting with its Italian amici once again to introduce an all-new Luminor Luna Rossa timepiece: the PAM01342. Coinciding with the beginning of the race…
This November, Zenith is introducing its first ever automatic watch to feature an integrated carbon bracelet. The case of the Zenith DEFY Classic Carbon is made of the same material. The use of carbon makes the new, dark timepiece light, durable, and unique in its appearance. Aside from the much-discussed black bracelet, the watch is…
Inspired by the Memovox Polaris watch from 1968, Jaeger-LeCoultre has developed a new collection to join the brand’s existing pillars. Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris Collection These models are a homage to a historical reference, the Memovox Polaris. But also they represent today’s spirit and modernity. The new Polaris collection offers a full range of timepieces: a three-hand automatic, a chronograph…
Today, Audemars Piguet is unveiling a number of new Royal Oak novelties well worth introducing, from turquoise and smoky blue dials to a new Jumbo Extra-Thin and a chronograph with blue sapphires. In this article, we introduce you to the absolute highlights. Royal Oak Automatic 37 mmwith a genuine turquoise dial The last time a…
Last year, to mark the 60th anniversary of the very first Carrera from TAG Heuer, the watchmaker launched a series of spectacular new products – most notably the Carrera Glassbox Chronograph in gold. 60 years ago, we hadn’t yet been graced with Ryan Gosling’s existence, yet today, the actor is the main protagonist for the iconic watch. It's a…
The Code 11.59 line from Audemars Piguet is only getting better – and two of its latest novelties are definitive proof. Growing into its own and developing its DNA ever further, the collection is evidently here to impress with the new Code 11.59 Selfwinding Flying Tourbillon and Minute Repeater Supersonnerie. As always, Swisswatches is here…
Bell & Ross is introducing a new diver's watch; the BR 03-92 DIVER FULL LUM. The timepiece inverts the normal principles of day to night legibility. Therefore, the entire dial has a full coating of green Superluminova. Additionally, the watch meets the specifications of a diver's tool watch, according to the international standard ISO 6425.…
Geneva-based manufacturer Patek Philippe is presenting three chronographs, each with a further complication. The house is showing the 5905/1A-001, a flyback chronograph with an annual calendar. In addition, the 5930P-001, a chronograph with a world time function. In this article, we present the new Patek Philippe 5204R-011 which is a new variant of the split-seconds…
At LVMH Watch Week 2021 Hublot CEO Ricardo Guadalupe presented three new models, which go by the name of Hublot Big Bang Tourbillon Automatic. They offer not only a tourbillon, but also automatic winding by microrotor. There is a choice of ceramic, carbon or orange sapphire crystal case. All three variants appear in strictly limited…