UK Watch Forum banner

The Louis Vuitton Tambour Curve Flying Tourbillon Poinçon de Genève

2K views 7 replies 6 participants last post by  tick-tock-tittle-tattle 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
Leaving aside a collaboration with IWC on a pair of world timers, Louis Vuitton (LV) has been in the Watch Industry for only 18 years. Initially, the company focused on its barrel-shaped case - christened the "Tambour" - which became the basis for a series of watches with a growing repertoir of complications, at first powered by movements supplied by watchmakers owned by the French-based multinational parent company Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE (LVMH) such as Zenith. In 2011, there was a major change at LV when the company acquired Geneva-based complications specialist La Fabrique du Temps, a small operation founded in 2007 by watchmaker Michel Navas and his business partner Enrico Barbasini, both of whom had worked previously for Gérald Genta. These two men are both credited with the construction of a tourbillon movement and a micro-rotor caliber for Laurent Ferrier as well as being co-founder of the now defunct BNB Concept (a high-end Swiss movement manufactory est. 2004 and sold to Hublot in 2010). Since the acquisition of La Fabrique du Temps, LV has continued to introduce high complications into its watches including its Spin-Time complication which, last year, was presented in a "mystery" version in which the movement seems to float suspended inside the case.

Wrist shot of the CarboStratum and titanium Louis Vuitton TCFTPdG (pic from watchprozine.com) and a closeup from the back of the watch (pic from ablogtowatch.com):

home_6415341.jpg


LOUIS-VUITTON-TAMBOUR-CURVE-FLYING-TOURB


This year, LV and its haute atelier have come up with a new watch, the Tambour Curve Flying Tourbillon Poinçon de Genève (TCFTPdG), which Michel Navas claims to be a milestone, partly because of the structural innovation of the case.

The 12.7 mm thick Tambour case of the new watch is 46mm at its base, sloping inward to 42 mm at the bezel. The exterior of the structurally quite complex case is a proprietary carbon fibre composite named CarboStratum. This material begins with random layering of 100 sheets of carbon fibre which are then heated and compressed in a mould. When milling the case to shape, the random patterning is revealed and, according to Forster (2020), gives "the shimmering appearance of shot silk, or the patterns formed by mixing two immiscible fluids like oil and water." Navas himself (quote from Prince (2020)) states that "For me, carbon always looks cold, but the way [this is produced] makes it look 'warm', like dark wood." The exterior carbon element or "shroud" is then placed over a titanium inner case, and the complete structure is finished off with sandblasted titanium lugs. The case of the Tambour Curve Flying Tourbillon Poinçon de Genève has one other, subtle, trick up its sleeve; a shape inspired by a Möbius loop whereby the case increases in size at the horizontal axis and diminishes at the vertical, giving it a slight oblate profile. The domed crystal is in double-AR-coated sapphire, and water resistance is at 30 metres.

The CarboStratum & titanium version of the TCFTPdG (pics from watchesbysjx.com):

louis-vuitton-Tambour-Curve-Flying-Tourb


louis-vuitton-Tambour-Curve-Flying-Tourb


louis-vuitton-Tambour-Curve-Flying-Tourb


louis-vuitton-Tambour-Curve-Flying-Tourb


louis-vuitton-Tambour-Curve-Flying-Tourb


The TCFTPdG watch is powered by the caliber LV 108/9 - the 9 referring to the gold and CarboStratum diamond-set version. This hand-wind 17J, 21,600 vph, movement, with power reserve of 80 hours and bridges and plates coated with nano-amorphous carbon (NAC), is manufactured at La Fabrique du Temps. With this atelier being in Geneva, and because the movement accords with certain aesthetic and constructional standards, it can display the "Geneva Seal" (visible at 6 o'clock) and possesses some hand-worked traditional watchmaking within a relatively high-tech movement. In order to better accommodate the open-worked plate and NAC-treated bridge that depicts the LV logo, the tourbillon has been moved from its more traditional position at 6 o'clock to the 9 o'clock position. The cage of the tourbillon is in the form of a quatrefoil flower, harking back to the late 19th century flowers that then accompanied the use of the LV logo. Strap options are black rubber or alligator and rubber in blue or black. Prices taken from the two main sources of this topic are £252,000 or US$258,000 for the titanium and CarboStratum version and US$322,000 for the white gold and CarboStratum model set with 4.22 carats of diamonds.

The white gold, CarboStratum and diamond-set version of the TCFTPdG wristwatch (pics from WatchProSite at storeage.googleapis.com):

home_6415346.jpg


home_6415351.jpg


References:

Forster, Jack, "Introducing the Louis Vuitton Tambour Curve Flying Tourbillon Poinçon de Genève"; Hodinkee, 9 March 2020.

Prince, Bill, "Does this watch tell the Future?" By Bill Prince; GQ Magazine, British Edition, November 2020.
 
See less See more
9
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top