The new Tambour Street Diver is everything that Louis Vuitton symbolizes —high artisanal quality, multi-functionality, creative ingenuity and the freedom of expression. It continues the House’s horological journey into the unexpected, one that began in 2002 with the launch of the Louis Vuitton’s very first watch. Crafted from a single block of metal and larger at the base than at the top, the unique shape of the Tambour was inspired by a drum as its name in French suggests. With applied horns that seamlessly integrate the case and strap, the position of the hours are indicated on the caseband by the 12 letters “L-O-U-I-S-V-U-I-T-T-O-N”. The Tambour has, in two short decades, become an iconic and instantly recognizable watch.
Like all great designs, the Tambour case is timeless and adaptable and, over the past 19 years, has taken on various forms from spectacular high jewellery masterpieces to the acclaimed Tambour Horizon connected watch, via models boasting the most complications such as 2020’s Tambour Curve Flying Tourbillon Poinçon de Genève.
This year, this iconic watch has been reimagined in the form of the Tambour Street Diver, taking Louis Vuitton into the realm of high-end sports watchmaking with a timepiece designed to go from the gym to the club, the beach to the office. Robust and edgy with a decidedly sporty outlook, the Tambour Street Diver brings together all the requirements of a traditional dive watch while retaining the colorful, creative and unconventional style elements that have always been central to the House.
Encapsulating the energy and richness of city life, the Tambour Street Diver is vibrant, bright and offers something for everyone in a chic, ultra-modern package. Challenging the codes of more utilitarian timepieces, it was born as a watch with an urban outlook rather than as a traditional diving instrument, yet its underwater credentials have not been compromised.
And just as water itself takes on infinite shapes, the Louis Vuitton Tambour Street Diver too has proved to be eternally adaptable with its tapered case making the watch suitable for all wrist sizes. The Tambour Street Diver is no exception, with three automatic mechanical models in 44 mm and one quartz version in 39.5mm, all four interpreting sports-chic in their own unique way. The clever quick-change strap system perfectly crafted by Louis Vuitton over the past three years, further enhancing the watch’s capacity to morph from day to evening, casual to formal, sporty to smart.
The four models include the Tambour Street Diver Skyline Blue —44 mm polished steel and blue PVD—, the Tambour Street Diver Neon Black —44 mm black PVD—, the Tambour Street Diver Black Blaze —44 mm black PVD with 18K rose gold— and the Tambour Street Diver Pacific White —39.5 mm polished stainless steel.
By looking beyond its surface, the sportier aspects of the Tambour Street Diver are revealed. From the screw-down crowns and 100 meters of water resistance, to the generous coatings of superluminova on the dial elements and inner rotating bezel, all bear witness to the functional practicality of this Swiss made highly crafted watch.
The diving scale itself has been placed below the sapphire crystal on the turning flange —the angled ring at the outer edge of the dial. The benefits of this internal rotating bezel are two fold: firstly, the top of the case is kept clean and minimal in the image of all of the watches in the Tambour family, secondly, the gentle inwards slope of the flange draws the eye to the center of the dial creating a feeling of depth and intensity.
The dive bezel is set via a color contrasting crown at 1:30 bearing a diver’s silhouette to distinguish it from the winding crown at 3 o’clock. Using the quirky yet inventive “Align the V” concept, the letter V on the diving scale is rotated to align with the color-matched V at the tip of the minute hand, the two forming an X that marks the beginning of a dive, the start of a new adventure. The time spent under water is then read on the internal bezel, the first 15 minutes highlighted by a vivid, color-blocked scale.
Keeping its functionality hidden behind a disruptive design, the Tambour Street Diver perfectly mirrors the contradictory city life and the juxtaposition of nature aligning with an urban environment.
To this end, the watch’s launch campaign aims to reveal a new city perspective focusing on water, a key element in enabling urban populations and ecosystems to grow and prosper harmoniously. Whether inside or out in the open, in public squares, gardens or parks, below ground or from great heights, water brings life to the city in all of its forms.
Sticker Price $7,505 USD for steel models and $16,910 USD for 18K rose gold. For more info on Louis Vuitton click here.
