The Louis Vuitton Tambour Carpe Diem is pure horological poetry

Fergus Nash

It really isn’t often that watches, even the super-luxury timepieces that stretch well into six or seven figures, put so much care into visual execution as the Louis Vuitton Tambour Carpe Diem. In this modern world where even the existence of such expensive items must be examined as a moral dilemma, this watch is one of the most convincing arguments in the “for” camp.

The dial

I’m sure I’ve described watches as jaw-dropping before, but in the case of the Louis Vuitton Tambour Carpe Diem, it literally features a dropping jaw. As much as this watch appears like a baffling technological marvel, at a completely surface level it’s actually fairly simple. The animatronic works and the way the time is told are complex in their construction, but almost effortless to read and operate once you know what you’re looking at. When the snake-shaped slider is used, winding the dedicated mainspring to activate the minute repeater, several things spring into motion. The head of the unnervingly three-dimensional rattlesnake, hand-crafted and engraved from enamel by Anita Porchet and Dick Steenman, sweeps to the right to unveil a jump-hour complication. This tells you the hour in the same blood-red gothic style as the “CARPE DIEM” letters that are unveiled within the mouth of the grinning skull, and the Monogram Flower which has a gentle gilt wink in the skull’s eye.

Beneath the image of a steadily pouring hourglass, representing the temporal limitations to life itself, is a retrograde minutes display that forms the rest of the time-telling features. The minutes hand is the tail of the rattlesnake, which pivots around the brilliant-cut diamond. The Louis Vuitton branding is integrated unsubtly, but not invasively, with an LV logo applied behind the nasal cavity of the skull, the applied gothic text of “LOUIS VUITTON” cascading around the side of the head, and of course the Monogram Flowers printed in a smoky grey on the black dial as an almost wallpaper-like backdrop.

The case

I’ve seen some publications say that the dimensions of this watch are a downside, with a 14.4mm thickness and 46.8mm diameter not being helped by its particularly bulbous case and semi-detached lug stylings. But, this isn’t a watch that’s supposed to slip under a cuff. The Louis Vuitton Tambour Carpe Diem only serves its purpose as a grim reminder of life’s brief nature if it’s allowed to be seen, and boldly so. The phenomenal level of detail and artistry on this watch can only come through when the watch is big, because you don’t really want to need a loupe if you can just appreciate it from the wrist alone. Plus, the dimensions aren’t even that gargantuan if you contextualise it next to some of the more extreme dive watches available today, such as the 55mm x 17.5mm Omega Seamaster PloProf, or even a lot of G-Shocks on the market.

The case itself is hewn from 18k pink gold, including the hand-engraved snake pusher that has two rubies set as its eyes. I’m generally a bit sceptical of pink or rose gold in watches, as the trendiness may not be as timeless as the brilliant lustre of yellow gold, however it really works in the favour of this piece. The more subdued shine of the metal lets the black shadows on the dial and within the skull to be a bit more focused, darkening the overall appearance, while it lets the yellow gold aspects of the hourglass and the yellow-orange colour of the rattlesnake burst into life. The water resistance is listed as 30m, but it’s hard to imagine any scenario where you would risk this beauty getting wet.

The movement

Looking deeper into this watch, and it becomes even clearer just how clever this watch is. With the focus put solely into the artistry and message of the watch, the movement is one aspect where Louis Vuitton have dipped into their own archives. I’m not trying to insinuate that the calibre LV 525 is an off-the-shelf product at all, but it is based on the same calibre LF 707.01 that was used in Laurent Ferrier’s Galet repeater, designed and manufactured entirely by La Fabrique du Temp. If you go to the section about “The Time Factory” on the Louis Vuitton website, you’ll find the impressive footage of artisans hand-polishing individual screws, proving that no shortcuts are taken on this movement in the slightest. Viewable from the sapphire display caseback, you can see that the rear bridges of the LV 525 have been modified to mirror the shape of the dial’s skull, but coated in black as to stand out from the rest of the pink gold-toned components. The Geneva striping is quite fine, further emphasising the level of ultra-luxury that inhabits this watch.

The verdict

When I first saw the Louis Vuitton Tambour Carpe Diem, I was instantly smitten. I’m a bit of a goth at heart, and the gothic romanticism that this watch showcases is right up so many of my alleys. My second reaction was something more akin to physical pain at how expensive this thing must be, and with an RRP of at least $459,000USD ($695,000 AUD), I was right to flinch. Surprisingly, this hasn’t been named as a piece unique, and not even as a limited edition, but the production numbers will surely be extraordinarily low. I understand that this is a watch that will sit in its box for the vast majority of its life, and treated mostly as a tradable asset if not a display piece, but I do hope that they end up in the hands of those who will really appreciate them for what they are — horological poetry.

The Louis Vuitton Tambour Carpe Diem pricing and availability:

The Louis Vuitton Tambour Carpe Diem is now available as a very limited production and priced at US$459,000 or A$695,000