Louis Vuitton reveals new watch creations for Watches and Wonders 2021 event

Louis Vuitton reveals new watch creations for Watches and Wonders 2021 event

Faithful to its values of artisanal craftsmanship and innovation, Louis Vuitton has revealed new watch creations for the online Watches and Wonders 2021 event. The Tambour Carpe Diem features bold high-watchmaking virtuosity, while the Tambour Curve GMT Tourbillon Volant, another high-watchmaking timepiece, is an invitation to new horizons. And with the Tambour Street Diver, Louis Vuitton continues its horological journey into the unexpected.

The highlight of Watches and Wonders week, the Louis Vuitton Tambour Carpe Diem, caught everyone’s attention. This virtuoso timepiece is the fruit of two years of technical development at the Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton. It combines an exclusive high-watchmaking caliber with a Vanitas theme. This jacquemart (functional automaton) watch shows the time on-demand without using hands. Activating a push-piece in the shape of a serpent’s head brings to life a miniature tableau on the watch face. A lifelike rattlesnake slithers and its tail reveals the minutes. Monogram flowers appear in lieu of an eye in the skull showing the hour, while the  jaw opens and the poet Horace’s famous phrase Carpe Diem emerges.

“Our aim was to get off the beaten track,” explains Michel Navas, Master Watchmaker at La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton. “We wanted to bring to the jacquemart our vision of the 21st century with all the energy and creativity characteristic of our brand since it began producing watches in 2002.”

The Tambour Carpe Diem includes additional watch complications as well: a jumping hour, a retrograde minute, a power reserve display and the mechanism of the automata. The LV 525 caliber was entirely developed and assembled at La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton, and is currently the subject of several patent applications. Assembled in the shape of a skull, the caliber is visible on the back of this exceptional timepiece. Louis Vuitton called on artisans Anita Porchet for the enameling and Dick Steenman for the engraving, applying meticulous savoir-faire to create an audacious contemporary aesthetic.