n 2017, when Louis Vuitton designed a new case celebrating fifteen years of the Tambour watch, the Maison took care to respect the aesthetic codes that make this model so successful. The rounded Tambour Moon’s inverted curve brings a new crescent moon profile to this timepiece. With its subtle play of light on the wrist, this case is perfectly suited to the aesthetic of the Tambour Moon Flying Tourbillon Kaleidoscope.

Its primary source of inspiration is the Monogram Flower that Louis Vuitton first introduced in 1896. “We wanted to create a contemporary version of the watch by transforming it into a kaleidoscope,” explains Michel Navas, master watchmaker at La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton.

The Tambour Moon Flying Tourbillon Kaleidoscope is a contemporary homage to the ancestral technique of cloisonné enamel. Using gold threads, the craftsman draws patterns by forming thin partitions which are then filled with enamel.

Louis Vuitton chose to let the cloisonné enamel details shine by leaving the dial’s “canvas” unsigned. The entirety of the dial is therefore devoted to Anita Porchet’s enamelwork. Purple is the most difficult colour to achieve in enamelling. Several weeks of research were needed to perfect the shades used in this creation, using antique enamels.

Alongside the variations of blue, Louis Vuitton wanted multiple intense purple hues in gradations to reinforce the kaleidoscopic effect of the dial. This extremely delicate process requires a perfect balance between the components that make up enamel (silica powder and metal oxides). A technical feat that only a hand asexpert, precise, and skillful as Anita Porchet’s could achieve.

The decoration of the dial alone takes nearly two weeks of work to complete. Once finished, the watch face’s hypnotic aesthetic is further enhanced by the power and subtlety of its blue and purple colour palette. The effect is strengthened by the master-stroke of an infinitely recurring Monogram Flower pattern, where the central motif, made of gold threaded cloisonné enamel, seems to repeat beyond the dial’s limits, like an exceptional Mandala.

To make the Tambour Moon Flying Tourbillon match the vivacity of its kaleidoscopic face, Louis Vuitton decided to equip the watch with one of its most beautiful self-winding movements: the flying tourbillon LV 81 calibre, entirely designed, developed, and assembled at La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton. The iconic regulator at 6 o’clock boasts a refined design, that reveals the V for Gaston-Louis Vuitton at the heart of the flying tourbillon carriage. On the case back, a sapphire crystal opens a window into the micro-rotor and watch mechanism. Its delicate adornment recalls the striped Trianon canvas created in 1858.

With its Tambour Moon Flying Tourbillon Kaleidoscope, Louis Vuitton has succeeded in revisiting one of the most exceptional watch complications while maintaining an aesthetic that is both traditional and innovative.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Reference Q1EN2Y

Movement
• LV 81 calibre: self-winding mechanical movement, developed and assembled by La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton
• Flying tourbillon, hours & minutes
• 146 components
• 40-hour power reserve
• 28,800 oscillations per hour
• 28 jewels

Case
• 18K rose gold case
• 42.0 mm diameter
• 11.5 mm thickness
• Anti-reflective sapphire crystal
• Water resistant to 50 m

Dial
• Cloisonné enamel handmade by Anita Porchet

Strap
• Blue alligator strap

Buckle
• 18K rose gold pin buckle