Louis Vuitton makes a major leap as a watchmaker with the Tambour Convergence
Jamie Weiss- A refined new take on its signature case design, the Louis Vuitton Tambour Convergence is a dragging hours and minutes piece that pays homage to traditional montres à guichet.
- Its name reflects its complication, but also in how it unifies Louis Vuitton’s ateliers in Geneva: La Fabrique du Temps (movement design), La Fabrique des Boîtiers (casemaking), and La Fabrique des Arts (rare handcrafts).
- Its 37mm case houses the first self-winding movement produced entirely by La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton.
When Louis Vuitton overhauled its watch range in 2023 – scrapping almost all of its watch catalogue to start fresh, leading with a slim and refined new take on the Tambour – it was a huge statement of intent from the famed French luxury brand. LV had long made horologically credible watches, but the new Tambour was a line in the sand, showing that the brand was moving away from fashion watches for good and taking watchmaking more seriously. Since then, LV has only continued to invest in its watchmaking capabilities, from beautiful métiers d’art pieces to elevated daily wearers like the new Escale. The Tambour Convergence is the latest and most potent example of the Maison’s watchmaking maturity: a stunning dragging hours watch that represents a major milestone for the brand.
So let’s get down to brass tacks. The Louis Vuitton Tambour Convergence collection launches with two models – a pink gold model and a platinum model set with 795 diamonds – both of which measure up at an eminently wearable 37mm in diameter and 8mm thick, offering a slim and refined new take on the Tambour shape. Unlike the 2023 Tambour redesign, which has an integrated bracelet and a slim drum rim-like bezel, the Tambour Convergence opts for an even more subtle look, with scalloped lugs and a subtly curvaceous, radially brushed profile that maintains that signature Tambour curve but in an even more elegant fashion.
Louis Vuitton explains that the Tambour Convergence “is a homage to the montres à guichet from a bygone era”. Guichet translates to hatch or opening in English, and refers to a genre of watches with apertures displaying the hours and minutes rather than hands and typical dials. You might be familiar with the term thanks to the Cartier Tank à Guichet: other modern examples of the format include the Gucci Grip and the Amida Digitrend. However, with its pronounced circular form, I think the Tambour Convergence most evokes a Chaumet Les Pléiades Heure Sautante from the 1990s – examples of which have become highly collectible in the 2020s.
This is all to say that this is a design that contemporary collectors will find extremely appealing. There’s an alluring, confident minimalism and restraint to the Tambour Convergence’s design – well, at least with the gold model, which features a broad expanse of polished gold as a dial that will develop a charming patina of scratches and scuffs over time. The gem-set platinum model is much more overtly blingy.
It’s worth pointing out that the Tambour Convergence isn’t a jumping hours watch, like many other montres à guichet. Instead, it features dragging hours and minutes, meaning that both the hour and minute wheels are constantly (albeit slowly) in motion. The shape of the aperture through which these hours and minutes are visible was inspired by the decorative arabesques found in the interior architecture of the Louis Vuitton family home in Asnières, just outside of Paris. Personally, it reminds me of an old-fashioned elevator floor display – either way, it’s pleasing to look at, with the hours and minutes depicted in thin, elegant Arabic numerals.
This complication is driven by the first self-winding movement produced entirely by La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton, the calibre LFT MA01.01, which is visible through an exhibition caseback. Like the calibre LFT023 found in the integrated bracelet Tambour, it features predominately modern finishing, with grainy sandblasted bridges and an aesthetically pleasing, very circular design with an arched barrel click. It beats at 4 Hz and has a 45-hour power reserve – not bad for an inherently power-hungry complication. No doubt we’ll see this movement in more LV watches going forward.
Indeed, the Tambour Convergence represents a unification of Louis Vuitton’s ateliers in Geneva, namely La Fabrique du Temps (movement design), La Fabrique des Arts (rare handcrafts) and La Fabrique des Boîtiers, the latter of which is the brand’s newly integrated case-making facility. LV is serious about bringing things in-house and continuing to establish itself as a serious watchmaker, and the Tambour Convergence is proof of this. I also think it’s proof that the brand is listening to and trying to appeal to dyed-in-the-wool enthusiasts: this is a type of watch design that watch nuts love.
Louis Vuitton Tambour Convergence pricing and availability
The Louis Vuitton Tambour Convergence is now available as a Louis Vuitton boutique exclusive. Price (exc. VAT): US$33,500 (pink gold), US$60,500 (platinum gem-set)
Brand | Louis Vuitton |
Model | Tambour Convergence |
Reference Number | W9PG11 (pink gold) W9PT11 (platinum gem-set) |
Case Dimensions | 37mm (D) x 8mm (T) |
Case Material | 18-carat pink gold Platinum set with 795 diamonds (~1.71ct) |
Water Resistance | 30 metres |
Crystal(s) | Sapphire guichet at front, sapphire exhibition caseback |
Dial | Montre à guichet |
Strap | VVT camel calf leather with beige calf leather lining (pink gold) Blue calf leather with black calf leather lining (platinum) |
Movement | Calibre LFT MA01.01, in-house, automatic |
Power Reserve | 45 hours |
Functions | Dragging hours and minutes |
Availability | Now, LV boutique exclusive |
Price (exc. VAT) | US$33,500 (pink gold) US$60,500 (platinum gem-set) |