Inside La Fabrique Du Temps Louis Vuitton - Atelier d ’ horlogerie Louis Vuitton La Fabrique du Temps .
INTERVIEW
Michel Navas , Master Watchmaker at La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton
What level of watch manufacturing is being done at La Fabrique Du Temps ?
Louis Vuitton purchased La Fabrique du Temps in 2011 , and now we are in Geneva in the cradle of watchmaking . We have all the tools and skills to create magnificent pieces . From amazing , complicated watches to simple watches .
We have watchmakers , enamelers and most recently enamelers for dials . As you may know , LVMH and Louis Vuitton both love artisans . So many other brands don ’ t have this kind of operation .
We are a company of 125 people , we have twenty watchmakers , eight engineers , four casing engineers , two designers and ten dial makers . We have a workshop for electroplating so we can make rose gold , yellow gold , rhodium .
Do you also do work for outside brands ?
We cannot . We work strictly with Louis Vuitton and we certainly have plenty of work to do . Within the LVMH group we also have
TAG Heuer , Hublot and Zenith and sometimes we will meet . But we concentrate our spirit and our minds on Louis Vuitton .
What are some recent additions to the factory ?
We recently worked with enameler Anita Porchet . And if there are some other artisans that we need , we will try to add them to our capabilities . Very soon we will add an expert engraver in the house .
One of the reasons we are in Geneva is to obtain the Geneva Seal . We received that Seal in 2016 and we are very proud of it . It is difficult to obtain and it is difficult to keep . And we have to finish all of our components by hands , even the screws . Everything must be polished , angled and finished by hand . In addition , each watch has to go to the Geneva Seal offices for two weeks .
Do you see expanding other collections beyond Tambour ?
Now we celebrate the twentieth anniversary of our Tambour watch , but we do have the Voyager collection , the Escale , and various
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