STRAL UTOMATON
LA FABRIQUE DU TEMPS LOUIS VUITTON UNVEILS THE Impressive Louis Vuitton Tambour Jacquemart Minute Repeater , a white gold and titanium-cased minute repeater with a dial Louis Vuitton says is meant to mimic “ a porthole opening onto an endless galaxy .”
In that dial-borne galaxy you ’ ll find an unusual space capsule automaton mechanism endowed with a cathedral gong minute repeater .
Within the watch ’ s 46.8 mm by 15.2mm titanium case ( with white gold lugs and bezel ) Louis Vuitton places nine gold automatons ( known historically as ‘ jacquemarts ,’ characters devised to strike gongs on church bells ).
When the wearer presses the slide , the rocket takes off to expose diamond ‘ passengers ’ in its cockpit . At the same time , the planets on the dial spin while the Louis Vuitton Monogram flower rotates and two stars shoot across the blue void .
As this astral show unfolds , a cathedral gong minute repeater chimes the hours , quarter hours and minutes .
La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton spent two years developing this unique piece , enlisting the creativity of engraver Dick Steenman and enameler Anita Porchet to decorate the case and to craft the dial elements . Look closely at the dial at 7 o ’ clock and you ’ ll see Ms . Porchet ’ s signature . Even the case itself is finished with the celestial theme as its design is meant to echo the shape of an astronaut ’ s helmet .
On the bezel , the Louis Vuitton signature is encrusted in blue rubber letters . The pusher , crown and the LV initials are set with a gradation of tourmalines and sapphires to match the deep blue dial . From the back of the case , a sapphire crystal allows a peek at the LV200 caliber , a hand-wound movement with 480 components , several of which have been finished in a celestial blue hue .
SPRING 2023 | INTERNATIONAL WRISTWATCH | 63