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…
The new OMEGA Seamaster Diver 300M Black Black comes with a black ceramic case and dial. Unlike the ceramic-titanium version of the Diver 300M, OMEGA does not use titanium here, but relies solely on ceramic. OMEGA produces the dial from a single piece of ceramic, using a laser to define the details layer by layer.…
With the Classics Première Salmon, Frédérique Constant presents a new model that is exclusively available in Europe. The watch features a 38.5 mm stainless steel case and a striking salmon-coloured dial with Arabic numerals. Inside lies the automatic FC-301 calibre, visible through the transparent case back. This timepiece combines traditional watchmaking with contemporary design elements.…
Tissot's PRX Powermatic 80 model has become a bestseller across the globe. Picking up on popular design codes from the Swiss watch industry, this crowd-pleasing, affordable automatic model is now appearing in a new 35 mm iteration. Showcasing either an ice-blue or radiant gold colour palette, the new editions are likely to further spread the…
Roger Dubuis presents the Knights of the Round Table: Omniscient Merlin, an homage to the mythical wizard from Arthurian legends. With intricate craftsmanship, the watch features a dial inspired by the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland, showcasing hexagonal towers as well as the 12 micro-sculpted knights. This timepiece is a limited edition of 28 pieces,…
Watch manufacture Richard Mille is introducing a new flyback chronograph. The Richard Mille RM 72-01 replaces the previously discontinued RM 11 and is powered by the manufacture's first in-house chronograph calibre. The new model retains the brand's design aesthetics and, as usual, integrates a number of technical innovations. The Case The case of the Richard…
Two new sizes, radiant mother-of-pearl dials, lab-grown diamonds, and actress Charlize Theron heading the new campaign: say hello to the new Breitling Navitimer 32 and 36 mm. A whole army of the manufacture's most popular and iconic pilot's watch are joining the collection in a range of new designs, from red-gold and steel to two-tone…
Something is brewing on the horizon in the sandy desert of Dakar – is it a mirage? No, it's the unmistakable curves of a Porsche, still clear through the sandstorm. But this is not just any Porsche speeding through the metres-high dunes. In the scorching heat, you can recognise the new Porsche 911 Dakar. The…
At this year's Watches & Wonders, Tudor is presenting new variations of its Black Bay series, which first launched in 2012 and has been equipped with a manufacture movement since 2016. The new additions include a GMT model, a Black Bay 58 in full yellow gold, a new monochrome version with a METAS certified movement,…
Audemars Piguet is presenting a new line within the Royal Oak Offshore collection. The five new models appear in an enhanced 43 mm case made of stainless steel, titanium or rose gold. The dial has also been updated to be more legible. Last but not least, Audemars Piguet equips the watches with the 4401 manufacture…
Löbner presents its first three-hand watch, the Sledge Automatic, featuring an innovative timekeeping mechanism. The watch is equipped with a rotatable bezel that enables minute-precise adjustments to the minute scale on the dial. This function is akin to the inner rotating bezels commonly found in diver’s watches but eliminates the need for a secondary crown.…
Breguet is expanding its pilot's watch collection with the Breguet Type XXI 3815. It is a modern and sporty reinterpretation of the Type XXI 3817, presented back in 2016. Particularly striking features include the flashy numerals and hands, which are either orange or green. The watch appears in a titanium case, which allows a view…
Japan’s rich cultural heritage evokes countless associations – yet fine watchmaking is rarely among them. This is hardly surprising: many still perceive the Far East as a challenge to the traditional world of mechanical timepieces. After all, it was Japan – more precisely, Seiko – that launched the first commercially produced quartz wristwatch, the 35SQ,…