Louis Vuitton founded the business in 1854 within the highly prestigious location of Paris, France. The brand is broadly known for the production of high quality luxury goods including luggage, shoes, watches, jewelry, accessories, sunglasses, and books. This wide range of products netted the company a staggering €3.2 billion last year (2012). In 1997 they became part of the enormously successful LVMH group (Moët, Hennessy, Louis Vuitton S.A.)
In the scheme of things watches in general only make up a small proportion of the extensive Louis Vuitton product range. Despite that the Tambour series of watches have been highly acclaimed for their sophisticated and unique designs. The Tambour Spin Time Regatta Unique Piece is their donation to the ‘Only Watch’ auction due to be held in Monaco on September 28th 2013. Recently I have written numerous articles about it for my own website and other publications. It has amazed me the time, effort and dedication displayed by all thirty-three of these high profile brands. For a watch writer it has also been a wonderful source of inspiration.
The Tambour Spin Time Regatta Unique Piece measures a respectable size of 45.50mm x 16mm. These generous dimensions should appeal to a wide variety of bidders, as the watch is bold without being massively oversized. At a weight of 148 grams the timepiece is fairly lightweight and should sit comfortably on the wrist. This piece could definitely be worn for most occasions both casually and formally. I can also picture the fortunate recipient wearing this watch on a luxury yacht.
The central design of the watch has been developed with the assistance of Paul Pettavino, a 15 year-old teenager affected by Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. He is also the son of Luc Pettavino who founded ‘Only Watch’. Essentially the overall layout is based on the fantastic Tambour Spin Time Regatta, which was originally released in 2012. Notable differences include blue cubes (instead of red) and a wonderful hand engraved 18K gold boat coated in enamel. Paul’s name is also hand painted in red on the boat’s hull. All these fine details make this amazing timepiece individual and exceptionally attractive in appearance.
The impressive Calibre LV156 powers the Tambour Spin Time Regatta Unique Piece. This self-winding mechanical movement comprises 35 jewels, 360 components and oscillates at a frequency of 28,800 vibrations per hour. It is also pertinent to mention that it was entirely developed and assembled in-house at La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton. Functionally the watch features hours, minutes, seconds, 12-hour chronograph and 5-minute regatta countdown facility. The timepiece also has a 48-hour power reserve.
The bezel and case back of Tambour Spin Time Regatta Unique is engraved with the words ‘Only Watch’ .The timepiece is also presented with a custom made blue alligator strap and hand painted trunk.
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