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Bang the Drum 

Louis Vuitton upgrades Tambour with a new in-house movement, a sleeker case and an integrated bracelet. 

In the twenty-plus years since Louis Vuitton debuted its first Tambour watches, the global fashion house has achieved a goal that still eludes many much older watchmakers: to create a case shape and watch than can be easily recognized while on a wrist across the room. 

Louis Vuitton has carefully tailored Tambour’s drum-shaped case while also applying technical and aesthetic updates. The collection’s success has eased the French couture house’s entry into high-end watchmaking, steering Louis Vuitton into position as a peer among the world’s leading makers of high-end watches.

The new Louis Vuitton Tambour, here in its debut steel case and bracelet.

This year, Louis Vuitton updates Tambour with new finishes and a decidedly slimmer, sculpted case. The new collection is more luxurious overall and notably highlights an all-new in-house movement and a sleek integrated steel bracelet.

Two new models 

Two new steel watches launch the collection’s upgrade. One is a chic monochrome model with a silver grey dial and the second one sports a deep blue dial. Both are built to highlight the new unisex 40mm by 8.3mm case, its new caliber LFT023 and the new bracelet. A rose gold model and a two-tone gold and steel edition are also now available.

The 22 karat gold microrotor helps provide fifty hours of power reserve.

The movement here is Louis Vuitton’s first proprietary automatic three-hand movement. It has been designed by La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton in conjunction with movement specialists Le Cercle des Horlogers.

With its 22-karat gold micro-rotor, stylized Louis Vuitton decor, micro-sandblasted bridges, polished edges and chamfers, the new caliber announces a new era of three-hand movements for Tambour, which has previously utilized modified ETA-based and Zenith-El Primero-based calibers, as well as quartz movements for certain models.

Boasting a strong fifty-hour power reserve, the new movement is chronometer certified, with timekeeping accuracy of between -4s and +6s per day. The certification, from the Geneva Chronometric Observatory under the auspices of the TIMELAB Foundation, ensures that the movement complies with ISO 3159 a serious level of accuracy that befits this new higher-end Tambour series.

“With this launch, we seek to open a new chapter in the history of the Maison’s watchmaking by creating a watch with strong horological credentials while identifiably Louis Vuitton in style”, adds Arnault.

The watches

Louis Vuitton has retained Tambour’s curves for these new designs, but has softened them with fluid edges and a curved back that gently hugs the wrist. The sloped, sandblast-finish bezel here is thinner than on existing Tambour models, but still retains the twelve Louis Vuitton namesake letters at each hour mark.

Louis Vuitton has taken great care to bring comfort to its premiere integrated steel bracelet. The bracelet, particularly novel for Tambour, offers no hint of even the small lugs we’ve seen previously within Tambour. Its clean integration into the case echoes the almost sporty look you’ve likely already seen in other well-known, high-end integrated steel watches.

A closer look at the bracelet reveals links that are convex on both sides to create a rounded profile, which guarantees smooth contact with the wrist. The folks at Louis Vuitton, a company built on fine leather products, remind us that this new bracelet, while all steel, offers “slim, curved links providing a close and comfortable fit on the wrist to rival the softest leather strap.”

Louis Vuitton has brush-finished the new Tambour case and bracelet—with a few exceptions. These include the polished bracelet chamfers and central links and the polished, drum-shaped crown.

The dial

Tambour’s new, three-dimensional dial features micro-sandblasted surfaces, gold indexes and a clean layout despite the seconds sub-dial. The markers are nicely separated as are the minute ring and the hour ring, all of which enhances the sense of balance on the dial.

Louis Vuitton revels in the details here. The watchmaker has paired recessed five-minute markers with raised, applied hour markers. The company explains that this difference in the height level of the markers allows for quick reading, since the light interacts variably between them. All numerals and hands are filled with Super-LumiNova. 

Price: $18,500. The collection also includes a rose gold edition, price at $52,000, and a two-tone model price at $26,500.

 

Specifications: 

Louis Vuitton Tambour, silver dial (W1ST10)

Case: 40mm by 8.3mm stainless steel, sapphire crystal and back.Water-resistant to 50 meters.

Dial: Grey/silver with small seconds counter at 6 o’clock; white gold hands, numerals and indexes, with SuperLumiNova coating on the hands and numerals.

Movement: Automatic caliber LFT023, visible through the sapphire caseback, 22-karat rose gold micro-rotor, 50 hours of power reserve, 28,800 vph, certified chronometer by the Geneva Chronometric Observatory.

Bracelet: Stainless steel with invisible 3-blade folding buckle.

Price: $18,500. 

 

Louis Vuitton Tambour, blue dial (W1ST20)

Case: 40mm by 8.3mm stainless steel, sapphire crystal and back.Water-resistant to 50 meters.

Dial: Blue with small seconds counter at 6 o’clock; white gold hands, numerals and indexes, with SuperLumiNova coating on the hands and numerals.

Movement: Automatic caliber LFT023, visible through the sapphire caseback, 22-karat rose gold micro-rotor, 50 hours of power reserve, 28,800 vph, certified chronometer by the Geneva Chronometric Observatory.

Bracelet: Stainless steel with invisible 3-blade folding buckle.

Price: $18,500. 

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The Watches

Video: Zenith and Aaron Rodgers Team for New Chronomaster Sport 

 

By Gary Girdvainis 

Since it first launched, Zenith’s Chronomaster Sport has seen a variety of cases, dials, sizes and colors. Today, Zenith is releasing a collaboration on a new Chronomaster Sport with brand ambassador Aaron Rodgers, four-time NFL MVP and future football Hall of Fame quarterback.

The new Zenith Chronometer Sport developed with Aaron Rodgers.

Taking on the New York Jets team color, “Gotham” Green (pantone – PMS 7484 C), Zenith’s newest member of the Chronomaster Sport series keeps all the quality points and construction of its 41mm predecessors – this time in the affiliated garb of the brand’s favorite pigskin protagonist.

The El Primero Striking Tenth, which Zenith debuted in 2011, elevated the chronograph function to a logical zenith in human-actuated interval timekeeping. Zenith did this by taking the already high-speed El Primero movement beating at ten beats per second and adding a center chronograph seconds hand that moves along in 1/10th seconds intervals when actuated.

This finite timing, which breaks the second into tenths, is really at the very peak of human reaction time and represents both technical prowess and logical functionality. Of course there are mechanical watches that divide the second into hundredths, or even thousands, but when the best human reaction times to stimuli are at about .15 seconds, dividing the second into such small increments is more an example of technical achievement than actual useful functionality.

In addition to sporting the Gotham Green dial and bezel, this limited edition also has Aaron Rodgers’ logo engraved on the sapphire crystal back. Price: $12,800. 

See www.zenith-watches.com for more details. 

Here’s my take on the new watch:

 

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The Watches

Bremont Updates Supermarine GMT

British watchmaker Bremont updates its Supermarine GMT dive watch collection of 40mm steel watches with a trio of models now featuring a 24-hour GMT bezel with an inner 60-minute scale, all presented with new colors and updated hand designs.

One of three updated Bremont Supermarine S302 models.

The new Supermarine S302 emphasizes its GMT mode on the bezel, and as a result we see a new model with a very cool bi-color blue and green aluminum 24-hour unidirectional rotating bezel.

A second model, a limited edition Supermarine Ocean chronometer (and boasting its chronometer rating on the dial) offers a sharp-looking grey-dial with blue SuperLuminova indexes.

A second update, the Supermarine Ocean, is a limited edition of 400.

Look for new blue SuperLumiNova coating on indexes and hands and a contrasting green hue applied to the GMT hands on the debuts. All the new S302 models are also outfitted with an automatic GMT (ETA-based) movement with 50-hour power reserve and a date display. All are also water resistant to 300 meters.

A third model in all-black livery, the S302 Jet edition, is cased in black DLC complemented by a black ceramic unidirectional rotating bezel and a sandblasted black dial.

The Bremont Supermarine Jet.

Upcoming Debuts

New CEO Davide Cerrato explains that the update to the Jet edition is “just a little bit sexier,” than existing all-black Jet editions, hinting at further debuts later this year.

“In November, we will arrive with some new additions of the 500-meter Supermarine models,” he explains. “We are focusing on adventure inspiration. This revolves around the idea that nothing is impossible. And we use explorers and adventurers to back this up,” he adds. 

One of those adventurers is marine biologist Ocean Ramsey and her partner Juan Oliphant. Both will wear the new grey-dialed Supermarine Ocean (limited to 400 pieces) during their aquatic research on sharks and on turtle conservation. Bremont is donating a percentage of proceeds from all Supermarine Ocean watch sales to the ocean conservation charity Save the Turtles International.

Prices: Supermarine S302 Blue-Green: Strap: $3,750 (rubber or brown vintage leather strap) and $4,200 (bracelet),

Supermarine S302 GMT Jet: $4,250 (vintage leather or rubber),

Supermarine S302 Ocean Limited: $4,000 (rubber or brown vintage leather strap) and $4,450 (bracelet).

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The Watches

Porsche Design Revives Military Chronograph 

Porsche Design revives a late-1970s military flyback chronograph with the new Chronograph 1 Utility – Limited Edition, the watchmaker’s first titanium carbide chronograph not connected to a specific Porsche sports car.

The new Porsche Design Chronograph 1 Utility – Limited Edition.

By making the new watch using a titanium carbide case instead of a steel case like the original model, Porsche Design makes the chronograph’s case more scratch-resistant, much lighter and hypoallergenic.

But by remaking the matte black dial and using same easy-to-read font of the original, the watchmaker has created a technically updated ode to that 1979 design. 

While the dial of the historical model (which was made for the flying squadron of the U.S. Air Force) featured a tiger’s head, the new watch offers a screaming marmot image between 4 o’clock and 5 o’clock.

The “Mankei” (marmot) name on the dial also refers to the Mankeiwirt, Ferdi Porsche’s newly opened destination for car enthusiasts located near Studio F. A. Porsche in Zell am See, Austria. 

In addition to the font and technical features, the Chronograph 1 Utility – Limited Edition also pays homage to its historical model in several other ways. 

A new “TiC” logo is placed in the characteristic position between 1 and 2 o’clock on the dial referencing the use of titanium carbide, and is a modern reinterpretation of the 3H symbol (for tritium) of the military model. Tritium is here replaced by bright blue SuperLuminova.

The watch also features the historic Porsche Design logo on the dial and winding crown. Two dots on the dial at 12 o’clock provide a clear orientation of the displays in the dark.

The new watch (right) with the original model from 1979.

There are few differences of course, most critically the new movement and the larger case size. Originally 38mm, the new watch measures 42.7mm in diameter.

The watch is powered by a COSC-certified Porsche Design WERK 01.240 chronograph caliber that retains the flyback function of the original watch.

The back of the the new Chronograph 1 Utility – Limited Edition, showing the aviation style leather strap.

Also new: a thicker seconds hand and a larger minute hand.

Porsche Design attaches the new watch to a slate grey ‘Bund’ strap made of Porsche vehicle leather with a quick-release mechanism. As an additional option, the chronograph also comes with a white textile strap with a badge on which the coordinates of the F.A.T. Ice Race are printed.

The watch also comes with a white textile strap with a badge on which the coordinates of the F.A.T. Ice Race are printed.

Collectors can pre-order the Porsche Design Chronograph 1 Utility – Limited Edition now for $13,000. The watch will be available in stores starting January 15, 2024.

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Featured Events

Only Watch 2023 Favorites: F.P. Journe 

This year more than sixty watchmakers have created timepieces for the Only Watch charity auction, which begins Sunday, November 5, in Geneva. Christie’s will auction these incredible one-of-a-kind watches to raise funds that benefit research in the battle against Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

While you may have seen a few of the watches set for auction earlier this year when Only Watch announced them, we thought you’d enjoy seeing many of these impressive designs again just ahead of the event.

The watches are currently touring the globe. After a visit to Los Angeles last week and New York until September 17, the tour will visit Monaco next, followed by stops in Hong Kong, Bangkok, Singapore, Dubai and back in Geneva. See the Only Watch website for tour dates and details.

We continue our series by highlighting the F. P. Journe entry, called Chronometre Furtif Bleu, a time-only watch that features an unusual blue enamel dial within a complete tantalum case and bracelet. 

The Chronomètre Furtif is so-named in reference to the difficulty of reading the time if the watch is not facing you. Unusually, the blue enamel dial reveals the frosted numerals only in the reflection of light.

In addition, the moon phase and power reserve indications are integrated into the movement and visible only on the back. The idea here to make a watch with indications primarily enjoyed only by its owner.

At the heart of this watch is a new hand-wound mechanical movement, Calibre 1522 in 18-karat rose gold with direct central seconds, a first for F.P.Journe. 

Estimate: CHF 200,000 – 400,000.

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