Louis Vuitton Unveils the Latest Time-Only ‘Tambour’ in a Modern Ceramic Finish

By Danial Martinus  •  18 Feb 2025 in Tick Talk

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One might not really think of Louis Vuitton at the mention of haute horology, but the French luxury fashion house has made strides at its own pace, with the introduction of its beloved Tambour collection in 2002.

The collection went on to introduce multiple incarnations throughout the next two decades, before being reinvented and overhauled in 2023 with the appointment of Jean Arnault as Director of Watches at Louis Vuitton.

The latest watch to come out of La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton, the horology arm of LVMH, is the Tambour Ceramic. It’s a modern interpretation of the watch that first opened the doors of 21st-century watchmaking for the brand, and it’s got sex appeal.

A captivating but challenging material to work with

As its name implies, the Louis Vuitton Tambour Ceramic is made of… well… ceramic. Each ceramic component—the case and the bracelet—is crafted from an individual block of ceramic. This takes a crazy amount of precision to achieve perfect results.

But of course, you’ll be glad to know that the signature traits of the original Tambour have been retained for this ceramic variant, including the iconic drum-shaped case, the 12 LV letters quite literally spelled out around the bezel, the LV monogram on the crown, as well as the Arabic numerals on the dial.

Keeping everything together is a sleek and form-fitting integrated bracelet, which proudly shows off a brown ceramic sheen—a shade synonymous with Louis Vuitton. At 40mm in case diameter, the Tambour Ceramic isn’t exactly small nor big. It lands itself in the middle in terms of sizing, though its drum-shaped case might exaggerate its overall size a little, especially on slimmer wrists.

But we reckon people with smaller wrists can still pull this watch off, thanks to its conveniently slim 8.3mm case height. This will give it a more flush look on most wrists, making it easily fit under a shirt cuff if need be.

Rounding things off is a water resistance of 50 metres, an 18k rose gold case container, an AR-coated sapphire crystal, and an open 18k rose gold case back. Powering the watch is a calibre LFT023 certified chronometer by the Geneva Chronometric Observatory. When fully wound, you’ll get to enjoy a relatively healthy 50-hour power reserve.

Oh, and it’ll cost you a breezy €75,000 (~RM349,000). 🤑

For more timepieces, head to JUICE Malaysia.