Louis Vuitton’s cutesy Tambour Slim Vivienne Jumping Hours collection
Fergus NashThe concept of a mascot is by no means new among clothing brands. Riffing off the streetwear trends from the late ‘80s and ‘90s, some brands moved beyond simple logos to dream up signature characters who served as playful ambassadors. Examples include the Companions from KAWS, Ralph Lauren’s Polo Bear, the Fendi monsters and more recently Louis Vuitton’s Vivienne mascots that all provide identifying markers for the brand. Although Vivienne has popped up in the luxury Tambour watch line before with the Spin Time Air Vivienne, she’s now been given a whole lot more attention in the Louis Vuitton Tambour Slim Vivienne Jumping Hours collection.
Jumping Hour watches seem to be quite an emerging trend in luxury watches lately, and given their simplistic approach to displaying the time with digits it makes sense that there’s so much more room for creativity across the board. Admittedly, that “simplistic” approach isn’t so simple in regards to the mechanics of the movements, but that merely adds to the appeal for most collectors of high-end luxury watches. With the Louis Vuitton Tambour Slim Vivienne Jumping Hours collection, we see Vivienne assuming the roles of a fortune teller, a croupier, and a circus ringleader.
My favourite of the three models has to be the one that coincides with the colour of the day, and that’s the Casino model with a dial made of a rarely seen green mineral called skarn. The granular texture of the decorative stone is nicely reminiscent of the felt on a typical card table, and the 18K yellow-gold case set with green and red gemstones recreates the glitzy vibe of a casino floor perfectly. The Circus model uses a mother-of-pearl dial with several of Louis Vuitton’s monogram flowers in red, and the Fortune model is set against a starry aventurine backdrop with notes of ethereal purple.
The LV 180 calibre is an intriguing movement, being the first double-aperture jumping hour movement that swaps across two windows to show you the hour. While the minutes are displayed on a traditional rotating hand depicting either an ace of spades, a monogram flower or a tarot card, the hours will swap between an Arabic numeral and other model-specific symbols. It might not be the most efficient way to read the time, but then you wouldn’t be buying this watch if that was your goal. With a 38mm diameter, the Louis Vuitton Tambour Slim Vivienne Jumping Hours collection can really be worn by anyone.
Louis Vuitton Tambour Slim Vivienne Jumping Hours pricing and availability
The LV Tambour Slim Vivienne Jumping Hours is an LV boutique exclusive. Price: CHF 98,500
| Brand | Louis Vuitton |
| Model | Tambour Slim Vivienne Jumping Hours |
| Case Dimensions | 38mm (D) x 12.21mm (T) |
| Case Material | 18 yellow, pink or white gold |
| Water Resistance | 50 metres |
| Crystal(s) | Sapphire |
| Dial | Skarn, aventurine or mother-of-pearl with inlaid diamonds |
| Strap | Colour-matched alligator, 18k rose gold hardware |
| Movement | LV180, La Fabrique du Temps-customised ETA 2892, automatic |
| Power Reserve | 42 hours |
| Functions | Double aperture jumping hours, minutes |
| Availability | Louis Vuitton boutique exclusive |
| Price | CHF 98,500 |