Time+Tide
TAG Heuer builds upon the Louis Vuitton Spin Time to create the Monaco Speed 12 Limited Edition
Leveraging the Louis Vuitton Spin Time movement as a base, the new TAG Heuer Monaco Speed 12 is an ode to 12-cylinder engines.
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Time+Tide
Leveraging the Louis Vuitton Spin Time movement as a base, the new TAG Heuer Monaco Speed 12 is an ode to 12-cylinder engines.
Hodinkee
What We Know For the last ten years, Louis Vuitton has worked with UNICEF, the United Nations Children's Fund, to support humanitarian and developmental aid for children worldwide. To mark the tenth anniversary of the partnership, the house is releasing a one-of-a-kind time object—a soccer ball reimagined as a clock—to be auctioned exclusively at Sotheby's from June 9 to 18, with the hammer price going directly to UNICEF. The piece brings together La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton, the Swiss movement maker L'Épée 1839, and the house's trunkmaking heritage, all in the shape of a soccer ball, timed perfectly ahead of this year's World Cup. With Louis Vuitton's F1 partnership now in its second year, the brand has been planting its flag deeper in the world of sport. Having a soccer ball serve as the vessel for this milestone feels like a natural extension of that direction, and there's something fitting about the spherical choice of form to commemorate this occasion. At the center of the piece, time is told through a sculpted golden steel dome that forms the upper half of the clock. Two rotating cylinders handle the work: one tracks the hours, the other the minutes. The minute track is engraved with Louis Vuitton's Monogram motif and flowers, and the top of the cylinder carries the "Louis Vuitton Paris" signature. Moving outward, the hour and minute apertures are rimmed with diamonds—144 white for the hours, 120 black for the minutes, totaling 1.03 carats. Inside, L'...
SJX Watches
The Tambour Taiko Arty Automata is the latest creation from Louis Vuitton to feature jacquemart, or mechanical animations. Like the Tambour Opera before it, the Arty Automata features a complex, multi-layer dial with multiple mechanisms that whir into motion at the press of a button, including spinning hearts and a swivelling eyeball. But this also incorporates a flying tourbillon at six, while the dial itself is grand feu enamel – and tiny bird feathers for the eyelashes. Initial thoughts The flamboyant, psychedelic Arty Automata is definitely not for everyone, but the mechanical and artisanal credentials of the watch are impressive (save for one detail, more on that later). To start with, the Arty Automata is a more manageable 42 mm by 13.6 mm, compared to earlier automata models that were several millimetres larger. Combined with the form of the new Tambour Taiko case, this makes the Art Automata more wearable than its predecessors. More than ergonomics, the scaled down case also underlines the movement development prowess of La Fabrique du Temps (LFT). The attention to detail in terms of the movement also shows in its aesthetics: the calibre adopts the house style of LFT with its relief bridges, but adopted to the “Arty” aesthetic with stars, clouds, and a lacquered rotor. That said, the Etachron-type regulator index for the balance is definitely out of place in a watch of this price. The watch also illustrates the capabilities of the metiers d’art workshop in ...
Deployant
We attended the Louis Vuitton Watch Prize Award Ceremony held on March 24 at the Foundation Louis Vuitton in Paris, and bring you this report.
Monochrome
As you might remember, Louis Vuitton and De Bethune recently introduced the third chapter in LV’s ongoing journey through independent watchmaking, the LVDB-03 Louis Varius Project, following the LVRR-01 Chronographe à Sonnerie made with Rexhep Rexhepi, founder of Atelier Akrivia, and the LVKV-02 GMR 6 made with Finnish-born watchmaker Kari Voutilainen. While we were expecting to […]
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SJX Watches
Today in Paris a panel of five judges – including Carole Forestier-Kasapi and Kari Voutilainen – presented Alexandre Hazemann and Victor Monnin with the Louis Vuitton Watch Prize for Independent Creatives. The very same young watchmakers who won the F.P. Journe Young Talent Competition in 2023, the pair clinched the prize for their jump-hour “School Watch”. Launched in 2023 by Jean Arnault, who has spearheaded Louis Vuitton’s fine watchmaking ambitions, the initiative supports promising independent watchmakers while burnishing the maison’s credibility in the watch world. Last year the trophy – and its matching Louis Vuitton trunk – went to Raul Pages for his RP1 Régulateur à Détente. This edition’s victors met at Lycée Edgar Faure, a technical high school in Morteau, France, which is well known for its strong and respected watch and jewellery bent. Their aptly named School Watch developed from the pair’s school watch project. They have since set up shop in Saint-Aubin-Sauges, Switzerland, though both will now have the option of a one-year apprenticeship at Louis Vuitton’s La Fabrique du Temps manufacture in Geneva, in addition to financial support. In December, a Committee culled the 20 semifinalists, which we covered here, down to just five in December and appointed a five-person panel to select the winner. Other finalists included Norifumi Seki, who debuted the ambitious Fading Hours alarm watch, and Bernhard Lederer. Carole Forestier-Kasapi pr...
Monochrome
Introduced in 2024 as a project to encourage independent watchmaking, the Louis Vuitton Watch Prize for Independent Creatives has gathered great interest among the watch community, depsite being backed up by the world’s largest luxury conglomerates. A truly interesting initiative in the field of independent and high-end horology, it now a biennial prize that celebrates […]
Worn & Wound
This year’s LVMH Watch Week looked a little different. It was held in Milan just ahead of the Winter Olympic Games and was limited to a highly exclusive and mostly international guest list. As such, several of the maisons under the LVMH umbrella separately held their own dedicated events here in NYC to exhibit their latest collections as soon as the pieces came available stateside. We finally got our hands on Louis Vuitton’s newest high watchmaking novelties at its massive five-story flagship on Madison Avenue in New York City. In addition, we got the chance to preview a model that will debut later this spring, and spoiler alert: it’s going to knock your socks off. So, stay tuned for that in the coming months. For now, let’s get down to it – we have a lot of ground to cover. Here, we have a slew of new watches joining two of Louis Vuitton’s core collections: the Escale and the Tambour. As a quick refresher, the maison broke from the traditional high fashion space and into the watch sphere back in the late 80s with the Monterey. However, it was really the Tambour, which came a few decades later just after the new millennium in 2002 that started to establish Louis Vuitton in the horological world. The collection has since become the cornerstone of the brand’s watchmaking identity with staying power over the past 20+ years. I guess I’m too giddy to jump to my favorite piece in the new lineup first – the Tambour was the frontrunner of the bunch for me. Here, ...
Deployant
Louis Vuitton reintroduces the Escale Worldtime, with an updated look and brand new movement, and in platinum for the first time.
Time+Tide
An unexpected diver from Kurono Tokyo and an artistic masterpiece from Louis Vuitton headlined last week in the watch world.The post New releases from Serica, Parmigiani Fleurier, Louis Vuitton and more appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Video
You can buy the perfect watch — right reference, right size, the one you'll wear for twenty years — and still lose serious money on it. Not because you picked wrong. Because of how you bought it. In this video, Ja...
SJX Watches
SJX has just returned from the Tokyo launch of Louis Vuitton’s third independent watchmaking collaboration, this time with De Bethune. Episode 29 of the SJX Podcast covers what it means for both brands, and unpacks the details of both the GMT Louis Varius wristwatch and the monumental sympathique clock that it can be paired with. Brandon and SJX also provide hands-on analysis of the Escale Worldtime and Daniel Roth Extra Plat Skeleton that debuted during LVMH Watch Week in January. Listen now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.
Monochrome
When Louis Vuitton unveiled the original Escale Worldtime at Baselworld in 2014, it caught the watch world by surprise. Not so much because of the technical part, but because of the attitude. Worldtimers were and still are conservative objects, often bound by the nearly 100-year-old Louis Cottier template and a pretty much shared visual. The […]
Time+Tide
Louis Vuitton kicks off its 2026 with a pair of precious metal Escale travel watch collections, which both offer novel complications.The post Louis Vuitton’s Escale goes globetrotting and complicated with the Worldtime and Twin Zone appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Deployant
Louis Vuitton's project with independent watchmakers is now in Chapter 3. Here is our review of the Louis Vuitton x De Bethune LVDB-03 Louis Varius Project.
Fratello
Collaborations in high watchmaking are nothing new, but most stop at the wrist. The LA VDB-03 Louis Varius Project goes a step further by pairing a modern GMT wristwatch with a large mechanical clock designed to wind and reset it automatically. Developed jointly by Louis Vuitton and De Bethune, the project brings together a contemporary […] Visit Introducing: The Louis Vuitton × De Bethune LVDB-03 Louis Varius to read the full article.
Video
Most brands lose all momentum 1–2 weeks after launch.
Monochrome
Here’s the third of the five collaboration watches done by Louis Vuitton with some of the most revered independent watchmakers. Indeed, following the LVRR-01 Chronographe à Sonnerie made with Rexhep Rexhepi, founder of Atelier Akrivia, and the LVKV-02 GMR 6 made with Finnish-born watchmaker Kari Voutilainen, it’s time now for LV to unveil its project […]
Time+Tide
The Louis Vuitton × De Bethune LVDB-03 Louis Varius Project is an extremely contemporary take on a classical idea: the sympathique clock.The post Louis Vuitton & De Bethune have created a sympathique clock that finally lets the watch leave home appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Fratello
In the case of this trio of new Louis Vuitton watches, it’s good to know what the name means. Escale, in French, means “stopover.” LV made a name for itself by producing luxury luggage and steamer trunks. And the art of travel is what served as inspiration for the relaunched Escale models that debuted in […] Visit Introducing: Three Complicated Louis Vuitton Escale Watches - The Escale Minute Repeater, Worldtime Flying Tourbillon, And Twin Zone to read the full article.
Fratello
As a kid in the 1980s, I played with many toy cars from Siku, Majorette, Matchbox, and Tonka. I also played with Hot Wheels cars here and there, though I don’t believe they were that common here in Europe at the time. My dad still had his old Dinky Toys lined up in a special […] Visit Hot Take: A Brief Look At The Louis Vuitton Camionnette to read the full article.
Worn & Wound
Fashion houses are often only as strong as consumers’ nostalgia for their heyday. As more time passes between a brand’s peak and its current incarnation, the connection to what it once represented can become increasingly tenuous. In some cases, that link barely holds at all. Balenciaga is a perfect example of a brand that leaned so heavily on its laurels that it fell on its ass. Thankfully, that isn’t the case with Louis Vuitton. The maison’s durability has come from its ability to evolve without losing sight of what made it relevant in the first place. Marc Jacobs is often credited with bringing Louis Vuitton into a modern context when he launched its first ready-to-wear collection in 1998, but the throughline has always been consistent: an emphasis on craftsmanship, materials, and design rooted in the principles established by Louis Vuitton in 1854. That same approach is clearly evident at this year’s LVMH Watch Week, where each release shows that the label is heavily invested in expanding Louis Vuitton’s legacy of craftsmanship into everything under the label’s umbrella. First up, we have the Escale Worldtime, which returns this year in a platinum case with a dial ring featuring 24 hand-painted city flags, each impressively applied at La Fabrique du Temps, the watch manufacture owned by Louis Vuitton that has been the catalyst for much of the brand’s advancement in watchmaking under their own name in recent years. If you are more interested in the Flying...
Fratello
Last year, Louis Vuitton introduced what Thomas called “a bold new effort.” He was right; the Tambour Convergence, a montre à guichet with a mirror-polished rose gold case, was a true stunner. This year, at LVMH Watch Week, Louis Vuitton introduces an enhanced version of the Tambour Convergence. Its mirror-polished façade is now hand-decorated with […] Visit Introducing: The Louis Vuitton Tambour Convergence With A Hand-Guilloché Façade to read the full article.
Monochrome
Louis Vuitton’s origins as a purveyor of steamer trunks and inventor of the stackable traveller’s trunk led to the brand’s association with the Art of Travel, a theme that extends across many product lines, including watches. The aptly named Escale travel-themed collection – meaning stopover or port of call – underwent a significant change of […]
Deployant
The Louis Vuitton Escale Worldtime returns in 2026 with a pair of platinum models, one with a tourbillon and enamel dial elements. Press release with commentary in italics Louis Vuitton Escale Worldtime Commentary The Escale Worldtime has been a defining model for the Escale collection since its debut in 2014. In fact, I’d go oneRead More
Monochrome
Louis Vuitton is back with round three of its Tambour Convergene, a classic montre à guichet that displays the dragging hours and minutes through two arched windows. A delightfully compact watch powered by LV’s in-house automatic movement, the 37mm Tambour Convergence takes advantage of the wide rose gold dial plate to showcase its dexterity in […]
SJX Watches
Louis Vuitton iterates on last year’s surprise launch with the Tambour Convergence Guilloché. The brand’s unexpectedly elegant take on the montre à guichets now gains an engine-turned decor on its front. Initial thoughts Louis Vuitton (LV) surprised when it unveiled the Convergence last year. Not necessarily the sort of watch one would expect from Louis Vuitton, the Convergence was a strong sign of the brand’s pivot towards in-house manufacturing and more creative high horology. The Convergence was chic and unique, leaning more into the craft of watchmaking, compared to the sportier Tambour on a bracelet. And the LFT MA01.01 inside serves as a good example of what time-only movements inside watches above a certain price point should be like. The Convergence Guilloché builds on the appeal of the original. By using a radial, wavy decoration executed on a hand-operated rose engine, LV has kept the 1930s allure of the Convergence while adding value in terms craftsmanship with the hand-applied engine turning. And the engine turning is not merely an aesthetic feature but also experiential. Guillochage is typically found on dials, shielded behind glass, so the tactile interaction with the rose-cut pattern on the case is certainly interesting. While this is probably not the best idea for wear-resistance, it is beautiful and historical. Guillochage was traditionally meant to be experienced in a tactile manner: pocket watches in the past were often engine turned in or...
SJX Watches
Louis Vuitton sharpens its haute horlogerie credentials with the Escale Minute Repeater, a chiming complication paired with a jump hour and retrograde minutes display. Built around La Fabrique du Temps’s proven minute repeater calibre, the watch trades the previous Escale minute repeater’s world time function for a cleaner, more focused dial dominated by grey flammé guilloché. The result puts Louis Vuitton in direct competition with established players in complicated watchmaking, and comes complete with a discreet repeater slide hidden within the signature trunk-inspired lugs. Initial thoughts On the back of a strong 2025, Louis Vuittion doubles down on haute horlogerie, now in a more traditional case than last year’s Tambour. While the brand still offers the quartz Tambour Street Diver for just a few thousand dollars, Louis Vuittion’s ambitions clearly lie in the high-end. After years of strategic acquisitions and investments, the brand has the industrial base to compete and the know-how to do things its own way. The Escale Minute Repeater is the embodiment of Louis Vuitton’s ambitions, and is competitive with other minute repeaters from established haute horlogerie brands thanks to its modern movement and tasteful details. In short, it shows the brand understands the tastes of the day, and, more importantly, how to deliver a compelling package that leans into Louis Vuitton’s unique legacy and brand DNA. Furthermore, the minute repeater is something of a s...
Monochrome
The Escale Collection is a classic of Louis Vuitton with a distinctive design, strongly inspired by the idea of travel and by LV Trunks. The Escale collection was mostly known for its world timers with handsome dials decorated with micro-painting and flags, or dual-time displays. Which makes sense, considering the name of the watch, which […]
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