Louis Vuitton Moves the Tambour Convergence From Precious Gold To Hardened Steel

The new Louis Vuitton Tambour Convergence might be a big deal. It's still a very expensive watch at €26,000, especially for a time-only watch, but it's also €12,000 less than the rose gold version we saw last. The Convergence is the LV that came right as the guichets style of watches was cresting. A guichet (French for "window" or "ticket counter") refers to a specific style of mechanical watch that displays the time through small apertures (windows) in the case rather than using a traditional dial and hands. Cartier, Audemars Piguet and Chronoswiss have all put out window-display watches in the past year, and LV stood apart from all of those by being the only one with a round case. And by making it in steel, it's now more attractive to a wider audience. And attractive it is.

The case is 37mm wide and 8mm thick, made by La Fabrique des Boîtiers, LV’s own case manufacturer. The steel is surface-hardened to 1130 Vickers, whereas standard 316L is around 150, and the ceramic used in watch cases is only slightly harder than this, so the mirror finish should hold up to daily wear far better than polished steel normally does. The whole exterior is hand-finished to a mirror, which Louis Vuitton says takes roughly three times as long as doing the same on gold. The inside faces of the lugs are micro-blasted for contrast. Sapphire covers the display window and the caseback. Water resistance is 30 meters, enough for a dress watch.

The discs that rotate and show the time are made out of brass, hand-brushed and rhodium-coated to match the grey of the case. Numerals and the minute track are printed in black.

Inside is the in-house LFT MA01.01, the same calibre Louis Vuitton uses in the Spin Time. It’s automatic, with an 18k gold central rotor, beats at 4Hz and holds 45 hours of power reserve. Through the back you get sandblasted bridges, perlage on the mainplate, polished bevels and an LV motif around the rotor edge. The jewels are clear instead of the usual red, a small detail that matches the colourless dial. The grey Saffiano calfskin strap has a beige lining and closes with a pin buckle in the same hardened steel.

The Louis Vuitton Tambour Convergence Mirror Steel, reference W9ST11, is available now as part of the regular collection, priced at €26,000. See more on the Louis Vuitton website.