Aside from watches, Louis Vuitton is easily among the most well-known names in the world when it comes to internationally renowned luxury companies. With that in mind, despite the fact that the brand has been established since 1854.
LV only began producing watches two decades ago with the 2002 release of the Louis Vuitton Tambour, which had a unique case form inspired by a drum, hence its name (“tambour” means “drum” in French). The Tambour’s distinctive form has become one of the designs most associated with Louis Vuitton as a watchmaker throughout the years.
It has served as the foundation for a variety of models ranging from divers and connected watches to ultra-thin editions, a flying tourbillon, and everything in between. To commemorate the twentieth anniversary of Louis Vuitton’s first watch, the brand is launching the Tambour Twenty in a limited edition of 200 pieces.
The stainless steel casing of the Louis Vuitton Tambour Twenty is 41.5mm in diameter by 13.2mm in thickness, with a flat anti-glare coated sapphire crystal set on top to protect the dial. The spherical design of the watch, with flared edges and attached horn-shaped lugs coupled to either side of a dark brown alligator leather strap, quickly identifies it as part of the Tambour series.
The dial of the Louis Vuitton Tambour Twenty is brown sunray, with a pair of black snailed counters and polished applied hour markers that are a mix of batons at odd numbers and Arabic numerals at even numbers. The time is displayed by a pair of centrally mounted hour and minute hands, with a running seconds indicator visible within the subdial at 9 o’clock.
The minute counter for the chronograph is housed in the other black snailed sub-dial at 3 o’clock, with the 12-hour totalizer for the chronograph appearing at 6 of the clock and the word “Twenty” dominating the lower half of its scale in bold yellow letters. At the ever-controversial 4:30 position, a date window with a white-on-black calendar disc appears, and both the minute hand and the centrally-mounted chronograph seconds hand are finished in a matching bright yellow color as a nod to the thread that was originally employed in traditional leatherwork.
Although Louis Vuitton is primarily a luxury fashion brand, the movement powering the new Tambour Twenty is a significant step in the horologically minded direction when compared to the various off-the-shelf calibers that are frequently chosen to power timepieces produced by other big-name fashion brands.
Louis Vuitton, like many other well-known watchmakers, is owned by LVMH and hence has access to specific movement innovations. The Caliber LV 277 automatic movement inside the Louis Vuitton Tambour Twenty is a high-frequency chronograph that works at a rate of 36,000vph and provides users with a power reserve of roughly 50 hours. It is based on the iconic Zenith El Primero.
The self-winding Cal. LV 277 chronograph is manufactured and constructed in-house by Louis Vuitton’s La Fabrique du Temps studio, and it is furnished with a 22-carat pink gold oscillating weight, with the complete movement visible through the sapphire window in the caseback.
Overall, the Louis Vuitton Tambour Twenty is a watch that is incredibly symbolic of the company on a variety of ways. In addition to the Tambour case being the company’s signature timepiece design, the single image that comes to mind when I close my eyes and think of Louis Vuitton is the company’s classic brown and gold monogram print, and this watch definitely offers a similar overall vibe with its dark brown dial and bright yellow accents.
Another wonderful touch is that the packaging for the Tambour Twenty’s 20th anniversary edition is shaped as a little Louis Vuitton Monogram trunk, which looks just like a miniature version of the famed travel bags and luggage that first pioneered the now-iconic aesthetic. The Louis Vuitton Tambour Twenty is not a cheap watch, with an official retail price of $17,800 USD.
However, keep in mind that the model is a 200-piece limited edition that uses an enhanced version of the Zenith El Primero for its movement, and it comes from a firm that is easily in competition for being one of the world’s most famous and recognizable luxury brands.
