Louis Vuitton’s legacy started with its travel accessories, specifically its incredibly lavish trunks that bore the recognisable monogram, and could be personalised to any level. The French maison made such wide-ranging trunks based on the demands of its patrons that customisation became an important hallmark of Louis Vuitton. Today, that same idea has been extended to its newest range of smartwatches, the Tambour Horizon Light Up.

The Tambour Horizon Light Up is the third generation smartwatch that Louis Vuitton has introduced, with a hitherto unmatched level of customisation. The case of the 44mm steel watch, currently available in three different iterations, is much like the original Tambour, although the new watch is bezel-less, with the edges curving. The curved edges feature the LV Monogram in a ring pattern, and underneath each motif is 24 LED crystals in a spectrum of colours that light up with each alert the watch gets.

The joy of the watch although is in the customisation options its offers. The face is a 1.2’’ full round AMOLED touch screen, with a resolution of 390x390 (327 ppi). In-built are the eight different dial display configurations, including a striped animation, inspired by Lous Vuitton’s iconic early trunks, and another one featuring Vivienne, the house’s floral mascot. Each of these can be customised in a variety of colours. Wearers can even create their own dial display featuring their initials, ina plethora of font and colours. The brand has announced that more dial display options will be unveiled over the course of 2022. 

The case has a thickness of 13.2mm, and the crown, a polished stainless steel as well, features a black lacquered LV logo. The stainless steel caseback features a black polished ceramic engraved with the monogram. The watch is water-resistant to 30 metres.

Operating System

The watch features a new custom-made operating system, which is also the first one, outside of the iOS, that is compatible with the Apple ecosystem; the smartphone is also compatible with Android and HarmonyOS. The internal hardware includes the lightening-quick Snapdragon Wear 4100 processor. Swiping right brings up ‘My Day’, with agenda, weather, step count, heart rate and air quality display; down brings notifications; and up reveals a control panel. Even Louis Vuitton’s famous City Guides have been incorporated into the watch via the ‘My Travel’ option, where wearers can also access travel plans and boarding passes. For the first time, the watch has been equipped with a heart-rate monitor, and there is an all-day battery, with four different modes. Other functions include a microphone, accelerometer, gyroscope, and ambient light sensor. The watch has a memory of 1GB RAM - 8 GB Flash.

Additional features

The Tambour Horizon Light Up features two pushers and a crown as well. The top pusher can be used to activate the watch face shuffle mode and configuration settings, while the bottom one can be used as a shortcut to an application. The crown can be used to change the watch dial. The Louis Vuitton Connect app can be used in conjunction with the watch to further explore various customisation tools and functions.

Three different versions of the watch come in Polished Steel, Matte Black with a black PVD coating (with contrasting titanium crown and lugs), and Matte Brown with a brown PVD coating. The watches also have a quick strap change system. The watch is accompanied by a charging cradle and a universal adaptor pack.

All images: Courtesy Louis Vuitton