Louis Vuitton Goes a Bit Dotty with Japanese Icon Yayoi Kusama

Yayoi Kusama Retrospective@ Whitney Museum of American Art

Louis Vuitton has gained recognition as a watch company to be reckoned with, rather than just another fashion house dabbling in fashion watches. Its parent group LMVH is the owner of  Zenith, Tag Heuer, and Hublot.

 Its latest ladies line of watches -  Louis Vuitton Tambour Yayoi Kusama watch collection - features the work of iconic 88 year old Japanese artist  and writer Yayoi Kusama.  Yayoi Kusama is best known for her dazzling "dotwork".  Her dots have donned the surfaces of clothing, stones, walls, furniture,  books ... actually everything ,including vague sort of shapes, that can be dotty. Yayoi Kusama often becomes artist and art submersing  herself within the image.

Louis Vuitton Yayoi Kusama

  Louis Vuitton is a huge fan of Yayoi Kusama. In fact Louis Vuitton was the principle supporter of the Yayoi Kusama exhibition at the Tate Modern.  Louis Vuitton admiration for Yayoi Kusama has become a collaboration. Dots now appear on a line of clothing, bags and other dotty accessories including the highly popular Tambour wristwatch. The steel 28 mm Tambour wristwatch  features a jolly red face featuring frolicking white dots.  Round diamonds on the inner wall of the elevated bezel surround the dotty goings on and lend an hourly indication of the time.   The crown is capped with a round red  cabochon. The watch is powered by a quartz movement (most of Louis Vuitton Ladies watches are quartz movements).  The band ,as you can see, sports dots of its own upon a perfectly matching red patent leather and embossed by the Louis Vuitton logo.  The case back is engraved with  its own steely dots and the signature of Yayoi Kusama.
The watches are limited to a mere 188 pieces and destined to become collectors items. 

Another magical masterpiece from Louis Vuitton

Definitly whimsical, I would say. The spanking new Tambour Diver Lady by Louis Vuitton. Soft and sensual the new line of Louis Vuitton Diver Lady's watch is a treat to behold. I must say Louis Vuitton has become a cemented figure in the world of horology especially with the unveiling of its first in house movement .

The Tambour Diver Lady is available in 35mm steel or pink gold case. The pink gold case sparkles with a decoration of diamonds. If you wish the Tambour Diver Lady is available with a swiss quartz movement or if you want more prestige you can opt for an automatic movement. The dial too can be ordered to your preference in either the classic Louis Vuitton pattern as depicted above or in pink mother of pearl. The strap is rubber which enhances the functionality and the aesthetics of the piece. Available in pink or white, the textured rubber will provide for a comfortable and non-slip wear. It is quite incredible that material such as rubber has become part of a sophisticated timepiece. The shape is that of the men's Tambour and theTambour Lady Diver is equipped with the same rotation diver's bezel for optimum performance. Although the watch has a muted ladylike look to it, it hides an incredibly functional diver's watch with water resistance up to 300 meters as well as an extra thick sapphire crystal.

Ladies watches geared for sports are becoming increasingly popular. Take for example the new Omega Seamaster for the Ladies, this watch has a helium escape valve which allows for the tiny helium particles to escape from the watch as one rises to the surface after a deep dive. This watch is for the more adventurous and professional diver as it is water resistant up to 600mm, but it lacks the femininity of the Louis Vuitton Watch. Since there are so many choices out there from brand name companies, one can purchase a timepiece specifically suited to ones needs.

First in House Movement for Louis Vuitton

This is probably one of the most beautiful watch designs I have ever seen. The Louis Vuitton Tambour Mysterieuse. The movement within this luxury watch is Louis Vuitton's first in house movement, making this watch collection a rarity. Louis Vuitton watches are hard to come by; but, the Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy or LVMH group owns Zenith, Hublot and Tag-Heuer.

The Louis Vuttion Tambour Mysterieuse manually wound LV115 movement is suspended in the center of the dial between two layers of Sapphire Crystal. One cannot determine how the movement is attached to the crown or the rest of the watch. It is a mystery. Which we will leave unsolved.
The hands of the watch jut out from the edge of the movement adding to the illusion of complete suspension. These watches remind me of Cartier's famous mystery clocks of 1912 where the hands seemed suspended in mid air hence the name mystery. Both Louis Vuttion and Cartier are French Companies founded in Paris in 1854 and 1847 respectively.
The watch is crafted to expose the vibrant palette jewels. The Tampour Case might have been quite bulky except it is tapered providing an elegant unique look. The lugs balance the Tambour case.
Although the manual wind may seem like a burden, Louis Vuitton has crafted the watch with an 8 day power reserve.
Being that the Louis Vuitton Tambour Mysterieuse will cost you about $265,000, you can customize the watch to suit your style. You can choose to purchase the watch with its 42.5mm wide case in red,yellow or white gold or platinum. You can choose either diamonds, rubies or sapphires for your power reserve indicator and have the cut of your choice. If you are looking to purchase this watch anytime soon, you had better hurry and customize your choice. From the time you order until the time the watch is ready to ship, you will have to wait a year, but once the year is up you will have one handsome watch and quite mysterious too.