Style Edit: Louis Vuitton Novelties 2024 collection – from the playful Vivienne Jumping Hours Astronaut and Sakura, to the intricate nature-themed Dragon’s Cloud, Snake’s Jungle and Koi’s Garden
Over the past two decades, Louis Vuitton’s pursuit of watchmaking excellence has resulted in exquisite timepieces that have consistently pushed the boundaries of creative design and innovation while showcasing their exceptional craftsmanship and savoir faire. Its latest Novelties for 2024 continues to strike this perfect balance of tradition and innovation.
Among them is the Voyager Flying Tourbillon which brings plique-à-jour enamel, a rare complex technique pioneered in the 4th and 5th centuries, into the modern age. The maison worked with several master enamellers to create a unique blue gradient dial with exceptional transparency and lustre.
Kyle Kuzma’s timeless taste, from Patek Philippe to Rolex
It is paired with a unique skeleton movement, the hand-wound LV104 calibre, which features 168 parts that are hand-finished to the finest detail. It also bears the illustrious Poinçon de Genève seal which attests to its perfection in manufacturing.
The Vivienne, the brand’s iconic jumping hour timepiece first created in 2017, has also been reimagined in two new versions: the Tambour Slim Vivienne Jumping Hours Sakura and the Tambour Slim Vivienne Jumping Hours Astronaut.
How to build a luxury watch collection: 4 tips for beginners
Inspired by the Monogram flower, this vibrant character is reimagined in a pastel colour palette for the Sakura model, which captures the elegance and fragility of the Japanese cherry blossom. Its white gold case with diamond-studded lugs allows the iridescent Monogram flowers to bloom on the surface of its pink mother-of-pearl dial.
The Astronaut Vivienne, meanwhile, features a striking dial that combines blue mother-of-pearl with an aventurine – a first for the brand – to create the illusion of a glimmering Milky Way sky complete with Monogram flowers and miniature paintings of a rocket and planets. At its centre, Vivienne appears in an astronaut suit with red and black hand-painted details, her hair studded with snow-set diamonds.
Three new pieces have also been added to the LV Escale collection which is inspired by the personal collections of Gaston-Louis Vuitton and showcases a wide range of métiers d’Art watches. Each model is a rich and fantastical tapestry of the natural world and is limited to 20 pieces each.
The meditative Koi’s Garden feature two carp swirling in a gentle stream, surrounded by colourful pebbles worn smooth by time – a feat accomplished by 150 hours of meticulous hand work. Snake’s Jungle takes you into the heart of a verdant bamboo forest where a vibrant serpent in jewel-bright hues of blue and green rears its head, forked tongue and fangs extended. Its gaze is fixed on the hovering orb of gold and nephrite.
The Dragon’s Cloud meanwhile, depicts a majestic dragon, brought to life using a rare technique of decorative inlay, clutching a carnelian-set GLV monogram.
Bring on the bling: 8 jewellery watches guaranteed to turn heads
Rounding off the Novelties is the Tambour Moon Flying Tourbillon which sees legendary architect Frank Gehry collaborate with the maison to create his first ever timepiece.
For the dial, which took 250 hours to manufacture alone, Gehry drew inspiration from his work on the Louis Vuitton Maison Seoul. To recreate his poetic interpretation of the movement of a boat’s sails, the architect printed out a large-scale photograph of the 2022 Tambour Moon Saphir and crumpled the paper to create the new model’s dial.
Behind these signature glass sails you’ll find a flying tourbillon LFT MM05.01 movement that was entirely created, developed and assembled by the master watchmakers at La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton in Geneva.
- The plique-à-jour enamel of the LV Voyager Flying Tourbillon’s dial was crafted using an ancient and complex technique to create the lustrous blue gradient
- Architect Frank Gehry collaborated with the French maison to create his first timepiece, the Tambour Moon Flying Tourbillon – the dial alone took 250 hours to manufacture