Marking Time
To mark the 20th anniversary of Louis Vuitton’s entry into watchmaking, a coffee-table book titled “Louis Vuitton Tambour” will be published on Nov. 25.
Written by veteran French journalist and author Fabienne Reybaud, a former watches and jewelry editor of Le Figaro, the 265- page volume retraces the ideals and process that led to the launch of the Tambour GMT Automatic watch in 2002 as well as the preeminence of its Switzerland- based La Fabrique du Temps atelier.
Throughout the book’s four chapters, more than 350 visuals help connect the dots between the earliest clock designs by the brand dating to the early- to mid- 20th century, the birth of the first Tambour and the rising importance of its Switzerland- based La Fabrique du Temps manufacture.
The book also retraces key Tambour models and movements, including the Tambour Carpe Diem, which won the Audacity Prize at the 2021 Grand Prix de l’Horlogerie de Genève; the Tambour Horizon connected watch, and the Tambour Twenty collector’s edition issued for the anniversary.
There’s even an unusual addition in the shape of a model commissioned by a collector and based on the Tambour Minute Repeater, featuring dancing skeletons in poses inspired by the
Kama Sutra.
Those who lent their faces, or rather wrists, are also well represented. Though Bradley Cooper, who was revealed as the first dedicated brand ambassador for timepieces, is absent from this tome, there’s no shortage of star power starting with Pharrell Williams, sitting amidst his luggage in 2006, Sean Connery, on a wooden pier in 2011 or a suave David Bowie in 2013.
More unusual, a handful of collectors, adroitly referenced as “Mr S.” from Brazil, owner of that special order timepiece, or “Ms C.” from Crans- Montana, Switzerland, are also featured through quotes and snapshots of their collections.
Published by Thames & Hudson in French and in English, “Louis Vuitton Tambour” will be available beginning Nov. 25 at Louis Vuitton boutiques before a wider release in libraries.