2025 marks Louis Vuitton’s first year at?LVMH Watch Week?(a who’s who of watch journos and retailers who gather for a nosy at the latest watches from LVMH maisons). For the occasion, it’s dropping two new Tambour versions, the watch that has come to symbolise Louis Vuitton’s strength in the watch world.
Louis Vuitton?is releasing the Tambour Convergence collection, inspired by vintage watches, with a very modern, very slick MA01.01 movement, cooked up in Switzerland by La Fabrique du Temps, LV’s timepiece manufacturer. It is available in two options; 18 carat pink gold, with a hand-polished case and lugs on a beige calf-leather strap, and a blingy platinum case, set with 795 diamonds on a blue leather strap. The hours and minutes are displayed via two sculpted guichets in a 37mm case; the hours at the top and the minutes at the bottom. And each guichet, or window is overlaid by sapphire crystals.
Sure, this is a watch that takes looks very seriously, but beneath its dainty art deco-style construction (other notable guichet-style watches include the mega rare Cartier Tank à Guichet), the?Tambour?Convergence packs some serious oomph. Its MA01.01 self-winding movement gives 45 hours of power reserve, and features traditional watchmaking touches like an arched barrel click (a handy mechanism to prevent clockwise winding, while allowing counterclockwise movements for winding).
“I like this watch because as the name suggests, it's a convergence of all of these skill sets at Louis Vuitton. It's an in-house movement, in-house dial, case, everything. But most importantly, the design language is exactly the type of watch the collector today wants,” says?Wei Koh,?Revolution Magazine?founder.
The second release, the Tambour Taiko Spin Time incorporates Louis Vuitton’s Spin Time movement first unveiled in 2009. Every 60 minutes, two cubes spin around instantly and the hour that has just ended rotates to return to its resting position. The new hour rotates to reveal a previously hidden side. It’s a playful patented technology and marks an important step in Louis Vuitton’s journey into?high watchmaking. Available in 39.5mm and 42.5mm white gold cases, and named after the Japanese Taiko ceremonial drum, it clocks in at 7.7mm thinner than the original Tambour.
The Tambour Taiko?Spin Time?Air has a bigger 42.5mm case and features a ‘floating’ display with the mechanism at the centre of the timepiece. So looks wise, it’s already pretty mad, but it also contains a world-first travel time complication, which can track the time across the world’s 24 hour time zones at the same time, with a day and night indication. Both models feature the LFT ST13.01 movement, which provides a 45-hour power reserve, 28 vibrations per hour, and 35 jewels of energy.
These new releases embody LV’s innovation in?haute horology?since founding its Swiss watchmaking division in 2011. The Tambour, which was re-issued in 2023 following an initial 2002 release, has quickly taken hold with watch guys, thanks to a mix of design and technical watchmaking. Indeed, the model even bagged global attention on the wrist of?Taylor Swift, who has worn an 18kt gold version in the wild.
“The Tambour may just be the most impressive fresh design to come out in the watch world (over the past decade) while at the same time, possibly one of the least likely you are to think of when considering a new pick up,” says watch writer and presenter?Justin Hast. “Not because it isn't strikingly beautiful, well priced or versatile – but because?LV watches?are still an insider pick (which I happen to love). Whatever you do, go try one on. The pictures don't do the watch justice.”
With the Taiko Spin Time and Convergence banging the Tambour drum that bit harder, that insider status is unlikely to last. In 2023, LV started to remove products in the entry-level watch category, to take the Tambour in a new direction. “Louis Vuitton has absolutely redefined itself in the last three years. Much of this is down to?Jean Arnault. He has done several extremely impressive things. The first is the design of a genuinely original and highly appealing integrated sports chic watch, the 2023 Tambour. He's also empowered two of the world's greatest independent watchmakers Michel Navas and Enrico Barbasini to create truly sublime timepieces for Daniel Roth, Gérald Genta, and of course LV at [La Fabrique du Temps],” says Koh.
Dropping both the Tambour Convergence and Tambour Taiko Spin Time, it seems Arnault is sticking to his word.
