The famous monogram of Louis Vuitton's vast empire of luxury goods and watches was first forged on a trunk. Not any old trunk, but beautifully crafted, custom-made trunks for intrepid travellers of the late XIX century. The trunks had to resist rough handling on the carriages, boats and trains that connected the world back then, and Louis Vuitton’s robust trunks proved their mettle, earning a brand name indelibly associated with travel and sophistication.
Recently presented was the Tambour VVV range of Louis Vuitton watches - a collection associated with a brand that evokes travel and the finer things in life. Three salient letter Vs are the leitmotif of the collection, with one picked out in zesty lacquered yellow. The strong graphic identity of the VVV was poached directly from a Louis Vuitton advertising campaign of the mid-1960s, which read: Volez, Voguez, Voyagez avec des valises Louis Vuitton (Fly, sail and travel with Louis Vuitton luggage).
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The Tambour GMT men’s watches adapt the striking triple V signature as an oversized second time zone hand, pointing to home time on a yellow 24-hour scale. The Chronograph model measures elapsed seconds with a yellow hand crowned with a V-shaped counterweight, while the triple V hand clocks the elapsed minutes. The unusual feature here is that the return-to-zero function, which normally pops the hands back to 12 o’clock, is positioned at 6 o’clock so that when the chronograph is reset, the triple V and the seconds hand align neatly, bringing the V count up to four.
The Tambour VVV Spin Time GMT is a fascinating watch to observe. Equipped with the LV Spin Time movement patented in 2010, the hours are read with rotating cubes, providing an original take on jumping hours and a novel way of displaying time. In addition to the dynamic dial, the triple V on this Louis Vuitton watch is used to display the hour in a second time zone - an ideal travel companion for today’s globetrotters and jet-setters.
All three Louis Vuitton watches are equipped with sophisticated mechanical movements from La Fabrique du Temps, which are water resistant to 100 metres and come with a grey Ombré calf leather strap embossed with the VVV. Available in Louis Vuitton stores worldwide, the 41.5mm Tambour GMT watch comes in stainless steel; the 44mm Chronograph in a steel or rose gold case; and the 44mm Spin Time GMT will be presented exclusively in white or rose gold.
Stylish, contemporary and very, very, very Vuitton, the Tambour VVV collection proves that whatever terrain Louis Vuitton decides to conquer, the identity of the Maison is never at stake.
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