Ji Liang, editorial director of WWD Chinese edition, said: "Louis Vuitton has been working hard in the field of fine watchmaking for several years, in fact, the most important criterion to measure whether a brand is really in the ranks of fine watchmaking is never boasting, but by its watchmaking skills and other hard power. Watch is a relatively traditional industry, and because of tradition, its threshold has always been strict. In order to be able to occupy a place in the field of fine watchmaking, Louis Vuitton has a very generous shot, in a short period of time has its own independent watchmaking workshop, and has the ability to design and produce its own movements, and has also spent a lot of effort to obtain relevant certifications. ”
The watchmaking industry once again blew a Chinese style, and Sichuan opera appeared on the watch dial
The Western world has always had an unspeakable fascination with Eastern culture and art, and Eastern elements have always been an interesting addition to Western art. Today, the Swiss watch world can often see watch works that pay tribute to oriental art, especially the zodiac trend in recent years, which has made a number of Swiss haute horlogerie brands flock to it. In this context, Louis Vuitton's new Tambour Opera watch was born, which is also the French brand's new exploration of the subtle connection between Western watchmaking techniques and Eastern art.
The Tambour collection is Louis Vuitton's first collection to set foot in the world of watches, in which the interaction with the Eastern world is completed, with Louis Vuitton's deep meaning. The name Opera does not refer to Western opera art, it represents the "China Opera" Chinese drama from the East. In the prominent area that occupies half of the area on the watch, a face pattern from Sichuan Opera catches the eye, allowing us to suddenly think of vivid scenes of characters dancing on the stage. Face masks are undoubtedly an important spiritual totem for Eastern culture, and whether it comes from the mask of worshiping ghosts and gods in ancient times, at least the mask worn by King Lanling when breaking the enemy during the Southern and Northern Dynasties is the real originator of face in the drama, and it has a history of 1,500 years.
This watch is not just a simple display of Chinese face art, the Tenglong that surrounds the face, the gold-engraved dragon head on the case button at 2 o'clock, the folding fan at 8 o'clock, the gourd symbolizing the auspicious meaning of "Fulu" at 11 o'clock and the auspicious clouds that appear around it, all of which have distinct Chinese cultural symbols. In the eyes of Westerners, this watch has enough rich Eastern cultural elements, and from our Eastern perspective, we can taste more connotations and charms hidden in cultural accumulation.
The close connection between the watch and Sichuan opera is not simply a stacking of elements. The most exciting unique skill in Sichuan opera art is "changing faces", relying on props such as folding fans, and actors can change their faces on the stage in a second, showing different joys, sorrows and sorrows. This Tambour Opera watch also has a wonderful activity figure function, with the touch of a button, the brow on the face is slightly wrinkled, the eyes are closed, and the time appears in the eyes in an instant, and the jaw that can be opened and closed also makes the watch have a change of expression. After reading it, who does not marvel at the watch designers of Louis Vuitton who have such a deep understanding of Chinese culture.
Kira said: "The moving couple is undoubtedly a very important complex function in the field of fine watchmaking, compared with the tourbillon, perpetual calendar, minute repeater and other complex functions such as watch operation and accurate display of time, the moving puppet mostly exists based on the need for ornamentation, but it is also this 'additional entertainment function' that has little to do with the display time, and the requirements for the movement are relatively high - it is necessary to consider all the parts required to carry the function of the moving couple in a limited movement structure while retaining the basic function." Therefore, there are many watch brands that have the ability to design and produce tourbillons, perpetual calendars, and three questions, but there are not many brands that focus on making dynamic dolls and can double harvest in aesthetics and performance. As for Louis Vuitton's face-changing coupling watch, Jiliang believes that "although the overall design idea is similar to several couplings in the past, the structure is completely different." In addition to balancing both "Chinese elements" and "Louis Vuitton style" aesthetically, the biggest problem is how to present the traditional folk art of "changing faces" in this very small dial space. Therefore, Louis Vuitton deliberately chose key elements such as face masks, gourds often carried by face-changing artists (sometimes used during fire-breathing shows), and Chinese dragons to create this moving puppet watch. Since it is "face changing art", the movability of the face mask is naturally expected, and surprisingly, Louis Vuitton even uses a gourd as a power reserve display, which brilliantly hides the modernity of watchmaking craftsmanship into the design details of Chinese folk style. There are also some details of the watch that make me think that Louis Vuitton respects Chinese folk customs quite carefully: for example, the dial does not show the number 4 that Chinese does not like, but uses the four-leaf clover petals in Louis Vuitton's classic Monogram instead; And the way to display the retro minute hand by swinging the tail of the dragon - yes, Louis Vuitton even stuffed the function of the jump time and the reverse minute hand in this coupling watch, which can be said to 'squeeze' the function that can be stuffed into the limited space of the movement to the limit. ”
Making watches in Geneva, the most orthodox Swiss way of watchmaking
When it comes to Louis Vuitton's watchmaking philosophy, it is important to mention the La Fabrique du Temps Haute Horlogerie on the outskirts of Geneva, a key step in Louis Vuitton's deepening of watchmaking, a creative environment that blends traditional know-how with cutting-edge technology, and craftsmanship that inspires creativity.
In 2002, Louis Vuitton's official entry into the watch field was marked with the first Tambour watch, seamlessly combining the art of travel with the dimension of time. In pursuit of top-notch watchmaking craftsmanship, in 2014 Louis Vuitton announced the official merger with La Fabrique du Temps Atelier, bringing the world's top watchmaking center to Geneva, Switzerland, marking a new chapter in the brand's watchmaking savoury. From the meticulous conception of the subtle movement to the bold creative design, Haute Horlogerie has become a signature Louis Vuitton piece that showcases great craftsmanship and craftsmanship.
The two founders of La Fabrique du Temps, Michel Navas and Enrico Barbasini, are leaders in the field of complex function movements and are famous in the industry, and Hamdi Chatti, head of Louis Vuitton's watchmaking department, also has deep experience in the watch industry, and it is with their help that Louis Vuitton's watchmaking department has made a huge leap forward that no one can imagine. In 2021, the Tambour Carpe Diem Kinetic Watch, inspired by the Void style paintings, won the "Fearless Award" at the Geneva Watch Awards, while the unique Tambour Street Diver Skyline Blue won the "Best Diving Watch Award" at the Geneva Watch Awards, holding double cups in the highest hall of Swiss Haute Horlogerie, which is the fruit of Louis Vuitton's efforts in traditional Swiss watchmaking.
2023 has just entered March, and two more blockbuster news has come out from Louis Vuitton. In late February, DANIEL ROTH announced that it would be relaunched as an independent brand under the support and management of the Louis Vuitton La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton watch factory, and the "resurrected" DANIEL ROTH brand intends to recreate the technological innovation and contemporary classicism of the early watch works of the founder, the contemporary watchmaker, Mr. Daniel Roth. Another news is that earlier, Louis Vuitton announced the establishment of the "Louis Vuitton Independent Creator Watch Award" awarded every two years.
From these facts, it is not difficult to find that Louis Vuitton's attention in the watch world is not only the current watch works, but intends to become a mainstay of the watch world in the new era.
Face! Clever application of activity puppet technology
The craft of the movable doll has a long tradition in the Swiss watchmaking industry, and the creative movable puppet timepieces of the 17th and 19th centuries can be seen in museums around the world, which is a traditional skill of the European watchmaking industry. Sichuan opera is also a thousand-year-old Chinese intangible cultural heritage, and the convergence of these two skills on the watch is a good story in itself. What's even more amazing is that the characteristics of the two that change in an instant and correspond to each other are what makes this watch unique.
In fact, the technology of the Tambour Opera Dynastic Couple, which is inherited from the 2021 "GPHG Intrepid Award" winner Tambour Carpe Diem Kinetic Couple, has many similarities in structure, but this does not prevent the designer from making a new article on Tambour Opera.
In this regard, Liu Yi said, "The face of Sichuan opera changing face shows a person's joy, anger and sorrow. As the plot pushes, for example, if you want to change a happy expression, you may brush the ground to conjure a face. This face has been made in the early stage, depending on the mood changes, relying on mechanisms and performance skills to change the face, each change represents a mood of the character at that time. ”
The right dial of Tambour Opera is a three-tile face, which itself expresses the rich and diverse character colors of the characters in the drama, while the black and red background colors represent the seriousness and straightness of the characters' personalities, and the unsmiling personality also paves the way for the contrast after the change of face.
The watch's automatic doll device allows for 5 ingenious dynamic effects, and the 16-second dynamic spectacle is unforgettable. Push the dragon head trigger button at the 2 o'clock position, the rose gold carved dragon head slowly lifts, and at this moment, the facial expression changes dramatically - the brow is frowned, the left eye is closed, the pupil of the right eye gradually shrinks, and the current hour number jumps. The face mask completes the change of facial expressions common in Sichuan opera by opening and closing the chin. The splendor of the dial and the vivid rhythm of this miniature drama captivate the viewer. In order to respect the Eastern culture's avoidance of the number 4, the watchmaker also cleverly avoided the 4 o'clock moment when designing, when pressing the button, a pointed Monogram flower will bloom.
The movement equipped with the watch has two complex functions, the retrograde minute and the hour jump, which is presented in the mechanism of the moving doll, and the retrograde minute is displayed by the folding fan at 8 o'clock by the hand of the dragon's tail, which is also the key prop for changing faces in Sichuan opera art. As for the auspicious gourd at the 11-point position mentioned above, it is used to show the margin of power reserve, and there is also an endless oriental philosophy between virtual and real profits and losses.
From the launch of the first watch collection, Tambour, in 2002, to the official acquisition of La Fabrique du Temps Haute Horlogerie in 2014, to the two awards at the Geneva Watch Awards in 2021, Louis Vuitton has completed its evolution in the world of watches step by step. At the same time, the emergence of the Independent Creator Watch Award represents the brand's unlimited vision for the future.
Tambour Opera Motion Watch
Tambour Fiery Heart watch of the Twin
Tambour Moon flying tourbillon Geneva imprint watch
It is in this context that Louis Vuitton has been able to realize various creations in the field of watches, and the brand has launched three new Haute Horlogerie at the same time, including the Tambour Opera and Tambour Fiery Heart mopet watches full of imagination, as well as the Tambour Moon flying tourbillon Geneva imprint watch, which fully demonstrates the traditional watchmaking skills, these three watches show Louis Vuitton's complex functions in the coupling, The achievements in the field of tourbillon movement and new case materials, the blessing of the Geneva seal is the watch industry's certification of Louis Vuitton technology, and consumers have a new understanding of Louis Vuitton's watch strength. Believe in La Fabrique du Temps, and believe in Louis Vuitton, in today's watch world, this young watchmaking giant has made his own mark. WWD
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Written by CW
Image source: Courtesy of the brand