Louis Vuitton’s new Tambour watch design takes a future-forward beat

A tech-savvy take on its signature watch design, the Louis Vuitton Tambour Curve Flying Tourbillon maps out its own dynamic rhythm

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Louis Vuitton’s new Tambour watch design takes a future-forward beat
The Louis Vuitton Tambour Curve Flying Tourbillon, available with and without diamonds, is run by a powerful mechanical movement offering 80 hours of power reserve
(Image credit: TBC)

‘We started with the Tambour shape,’ says Louis Vuitton master watchmaker Michel Navas, of the brand’s signature ‘drum’ shape watch case. ‘We wanted to create a watch that was more fluid and light – one that easily marries the wrist.’

The watch is crafted from ultra-lightweight materials commonly used in aeronautics. The outer part of the case is formed from the composite, Carbostratum: ‘It’s a carbon process specially created for Louis Vuitton,’ explains Navas. ‘We use carbon layers stacked with a random change of fibre orientation.' Once compressed and milled, the opposing layers show on the surface as swirls and curves similar to Damascus steel, creating a beguiling effect that contrasts with the lugs and highlights the Tambour case’s unique geometry.

The play of convex and concave curves continues into the watch with the inner flange that works as a frame for the tourbillon movement within. The Calibre LV108 is the latest iteration of the Flying Tourbillon developed and assembled at Louis Vuitton’s watchmaking facility in Geneva, La Fabrique du Temps.

The movement is suspended from black, NAV-coated plates forming the LV logo and allowing the polished titanium tourbillon cage at nine o’clock to float over the base. And, as always with Louis Vuitton, there’s a strong graphic quality to the movement design.

The Louis Vuitton Tambour Curve Flying Tourbillon is also created in a diamond-set version.

Louis Vuitton’s new Tambour watch design takes a future-forward beat

The titanium tourbillon carriage takes its inspiration from the Louis Vuitton monogram 

(Image credit: TBC)

INFORMATION

louisvuitton.com 

James Gurney

James Gurney has written on watches for over 25 years, founding QP Magazine in 2003, the UK’s first home-grown watch title. In 2009, he initiated SalonQP, one of the first watch fairs to focus on the end-consumer, and is regarded as a leading horological voice contributing to news and magazine titles across the globe.