Louis Vuitton Makes Watches That Have Serious Watch Fans Gasping
Voyager Flying Tourbillon Poinçon de Genève in platinum, $248,000; Tambour Moon Mystérieuse Flying Tourbillon in pink gold, $258,000; Tambour Spin Time Air with colored stones and diamonds, $134,000
Photographer: Sarah Anne Ward for Bloomberg Businessweek
Louis Vuitton has been making luxury watches for 19 years, and in Swiss watchmaking terms, that makes it an upstart. The most important timekeeping inventions had been created by the first half of the 19th century by houses in Switzerland. The oldest, Vacheron Constantin, has been in the business since 1755, 100 years before Louis Vuitton made its first trunk.
Yet in 2002 the famed Paris luggage maker began its foray as a high-end horologer rather than a “fashion” watch brand. First out of the gate was the Tambour, a mechanical watch whose distinctive design featured a large dial opening and rounded, drumlike case. (Tambour is French for drum.) The 12 letters of Louis Vuitton were engraved next to each hour.