Louis Vuitton Revisits a Revolutionary Complication in the Tambour Taiko Spin Time
Sixteen years after its debut, the stylish spinning cubes dazzle once again in a new streamlined case.
It was a radical idea: rotating cubes that spin around to indicate the hours. Like the rhythmic split-flap displays found in airports and train stations back in the day, during the golden age of travel. Click-clack! This dynamic, three-dimensional complication is an essential part of Louis Vuitton Haute Horlogerie. One might even say it was the genesis, because when the visionary founders of La Fabrique du Temps Michel Navas and Enrico Barbasini brought this inspired invention to the Maison in 2007, it kickstarted a relationship that would culminate with the integration of the specialist manufacture into the French luxury giant in 2011. Without Spin Time, Louis Vuitton would still be making regular fashion timepieces today.
Sixteen years after the Spin Time’s debut in 2009, the singular jumping hour mechanism returns in the new Tambour Taiko Spin Time collection. The core complication remains the same (you don’t mess with genius), upgraded through in-house calibres developed entirely by La Fabrique du Temps. What’s ostensibly changed is the case design. Louis Vuitton has enjoyed a sort of horological renaissance thanks to the Tambour’s revolutionary remake in 2023; all their timepieces since have the sauce, that intangible quality that imparts an irresistible aura of style, confidence and attraction. Tambour, Escale, and now Spin Time — it’s impressive how consistently they’re batting home runs. And it boils down to super compelling design.
The Tambour Taiko Spin Time follows the stylistic blueprint of the 2023 Tambour, but incorporates the iconic drum-shaped profile of the Taiko with integrated lugs. Crafted in white gold, the streamlined case is elevated with an outstanding interplay of finishes like polished and satin surfaces, sandblasted channels, as well as relief and recessed details. The dial is dressed in dolphin grey (bejewelled models use hawk’s eye stone to match the cool palette) and features familiar elements like the indices, hands, typography and even “Fab. En Suisse” label found in the modern Tambour. Combined with the signature spinning cubes (now with curved faces), Louis Vuitton’s got another handsome winner on their hands.
The time-only models with complete dials provide more than enough excitement. But Louis Vuitton has a penchant for pizazz, and so the Tambour Taiko Spin Time Air astonishes with a dozen whirligigs suspended in space. The levitating display is truly a sight to behold; it is also paired with a twirling tourbillon or comes in a worldtime setup with two cities printed on each cube. Now, as in then, the Spin Time is a revolution.
