2023 Louis Vuitton Tambour Opera Automata Debuts On a High Note

2023 Louis Vuitton Tambour Opera Automata Debuts On a High Note

Written By Tim Mosso

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<p>The 2023 Louis Vuitton Tambour Opera Automata is a formidable statement of intent. Its engineering exudes ambition and daring. It’s an embodiment of craft art virtuosity. It repudiates minimalism and eschews mainstream appeal. This is a watch for an audience comprising only its creators and a handful of customers keen to embrace maximalist horology.</p>
<p>In art, minimalism is easy; maximalism is the true challenge. Maximalism overpowers the senses. It defies easy resolution. And it confounds creators who lack the skill to work with limitless options. If a simple dress watch is Philip Johnson’s Roofless Church, then the Tambour Opera Automata is Antoni Gaudi’s Sagrada Família; both are charming, but only La Sagrada inspires awe.</p>
<p><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-1166550" src="https://watchbox-blog.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Louis-Vuitton-Tambour-Opera-Automata-macro-dial.jpg?max-w=1024&q=50&auto=format,compress&usm=10&usmrad=3" alt="" width="1400" height="933" /></p>
<p>The Tambour Opera Automata inspires awe. And given its heritage, that’s no surprise.</p>
<p>La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton set a mark in haute horlogerie with its 2021 GPHG Audacity Prize-winning Tambour Carpe Diem. If La Fabrique’s name isn’t as familiar as its legendary parent brand, then a quick review is in order. La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton (LFT) is an integrated manufacture founded in Geneva in 2007. Conceived and led by master watchmakers Michel Navas and Enrico Barbasini, LFT has been the heart of Louis Vuitton premier watchmaking since 2011.</p>
<p>Longtime followers of Louis Vuitton will recognize the distinctive “tambour” case – “drum” in French – that has been a mainstay of the company’s watchmaking since its initial 2002 foray into luxury horology. With its quirky lug integration and voluptuous volume, the tambour was a bold shape in ‘02, and it remains so today.</p>
<p><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-1166547 aligncenter" src="https://watchbox-blog.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Louis-Vuitton-Tambour-Opera-Automata-case-detail.jpg?max-w=1024&q=50&auto=format,compress&usm=10&usmrad=3" alt="" width="1120" height="1400" /></p>
<p>And the Tambour Opera Automata is bold; this 46.8mm rose gold watch has a profound air of theater. And the timepiece should have a theatrical presence, because its inspiration is traditional Szechuan “bian lian” opera. “Bian lian,” or “face changing,” lends its colorful imagery to the dial of the Opera Automata. Engineering notwithstanding, the artistic intensity of the watch deserves an in-depth dive.</p>
<p>LFT partners with world-class artisans to achieve the Opera Automata’s visual impact. All dragon imagery on the dial and the automaton charging button are engraved by Dick Steenman of Geneva studio Art & D. The figures exemplify the rare art of freehand miniature sculpting, so no two dials will be identical. Moreover, the red dragon eyes are composed of rubies shaped and sized specifically for this application. And this is no routine reptile; it bears the distinctive five-fingered claw of the Chinese imperial dragon.</p>
<p>The black, white and red gloss surfaces are fired enamel executed in the studio of enameling master Anita Porchet. Elements of the bian lian opera mask further involve the evacuation and enamel-filling of hollows known as “champlevé.” Translucent red enamel is employed over metal engraving – “flinqué” enamel – to create the image of a bian lian fan; the fan facilitates mask-changing during operatic performances. Equal attention to detail is rendered on the winding and setting crown; it incorporates the red flinqué fan in miniature alongside a set ruby. From start to finish, enameling of the Opera demands more than seven days of focused rigor.</p>
<p><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-1166546" src="https://watchbox-blog.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Louis-Vuitton-Tambour-Opera-Automata-2023-release.jpg?max-w=1024&q=50&auto=format,compress&usm=10&usmrad=3" alt="" width="1400" height="933" /></p>
<p>LFT’s watchmaking here exists within an ecosystem of art forms. All hand-crafted elements of the Tambour Opera are incorporated into the mechanical heart of the watch. Five automata animate a dynamic and dazzling time display. The mask features a moving jaw to express changing emotions; a left eye reveals the Louis Vuitton monogram; a right eye emotes with a floating brow. The engraved dragon’s tail jumps with alacrity to indicate the current minutes, and the figure of the dragon at top slides to reveal the hour. The external engraved dragon acts as the charging button for the minute repeater-inspired automaton drivetrain.</p>
<p>Additional gold engravings grace the gourd-inspired crystal that acts as the power reserve indicator.</p>
<p>Beneath its gallery-grade dial, the Tambour Opera Automata is a mechanical marvel. Its LV525 manual-wind caliber builds on the 2021 Carpe Diem with a 100-hour base movement. All automata are driven by a strike barrel energized on demand by the user. As with a minute repeater, the resulting display is paced by a centrifugal governor – for 16 seconds – in order to achieve a graceful cadence of motion. Modern watchmaking standards include a free-sprung balance, uncompromising six-position chronometric adjustment, and a theatrically architected drivetrain that runs from top to bottom.</p>
<p>Artisanal finish dominates both sides of the Opera Automata. Its caseback sits beneath a vast sapphire that embraces engineering as art. Finishing techniques include rose gold gilding on bridges blazon with deep Côtes de Genève stripes. Mirrored bevels executed by hand soften the profiles of bridge shoulders, and all wheels received handsome satin grain. Screws – often the telltale of cut corners on lesser watches – feature black polished heads, chamfered slots, and beveled outer profiles. The base plate, which is rhodium-plated to contrast with the rose bridges, includes rich engine turning.</p>
<p><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-1166548" src="https://watchbox-blog.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Louis-Vuitton-Tambour-Opera-Automata-caseback.jpg?max-w=1024&q=50&auto=format,compress&usm=10&usmrad=3" alt="" width="1400" height="933" /></p>
<p>The centerpiece of the Opera Automata caseback is its massive Szechuan opera mask. 2021’s Carpe Diem “memento mori” transforms into 2023’s bian lian character with alternating runs of mirror polished steel and rich black lacquer. Gaps in the mask reveal the automaton governor at top, the drivetrain at center and the beating heart of the watch at its base.</p>
<p>Orders for the Louis Vuitton Tambour Opera Automata will be accepted at the time of launch with deliveries beginning as soon as practicable. While LFT employs a watchmaking staff of 20 advanced craftsmen, only three meet the extreme qualifications necessary to assemble and regulate the new horological opus. Production is expected to be limited, and the watch will be exclusive; its predecessor, the Carpe Diem, is already discontinued. Expect roughly 15 examples of the Opera Automata to be crafted.</p>

Written By

Tim Mosso

As WatchBox’s Media Director and Watch Specialist, Tim is adept at forging emotional links between enthusiasts and timepieces. As a devotee of watchmaking and its related business history, Tim prefers to view himself as a perpetual student. He has led the two WatchBox YouTube channels to amass over 235,000 subscribers, more than ninety million views, and in excess of 6,000 luxury watch videos. Given his knowledge of product across the spectrum from vintage to contemporary, Tim works directly with the watchmaking department to authenticate, date, identify, and survey watches or collections to be purchased or sold, serving as an ideal pillar of quality assurance alongside watchmaking’s artisanal expertise.

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As WatchBox’s Media Director and Watch Specialist, Tim is adept at forging emotional links between enthusiasts and timepieces. As a devotee of watchmaking and its related business history, Tim prefers to view himself as a perpetual student. He has led the two WatchBox YouTube channels to amass over 235,000 subscribers, more than ninety million views, and in excess of 6,000 luxury watch videos. Given his knowledge of product across the spectrum from vintage to contemporary, Tim works directly with the watchmaking department to authenticate, date, identify, and survey watches or collections to be purchased or sold, serving as an ideal pillar of quality assurance alongside watchmaking’s artisanal expertise.

View More Articles