Louis Vuitton has only been making luxury watches for around twenty years. In Swiss watchmaking terms, that makes them total newbies but thanks to a shrewd strategy that included acquiring ‘La Fabrique du Temps’ (a highly respected watchmaking workshop located in Geneva that specialises in the conception and fabrication of high standard movements, like tourbillons and minute repeaters), they’ve reached a position now where they fully deserve your attention.

Take their latest release for example. It’s called the Tambour Moon Flying Tourbillon “Poinçon de Genève” Sapphire, and besides the fact it’s available in black, blue and pink colourways, the main highlight is a 42.5mm-diameter case that’s hewn from a single block of sapphire. It’s a feat we have of course seen before from marques like Richard Mille and Hublot but it wasn’t something we’d have expected to see from a brand like Louis Vuitton. But LV went a step beyond too by making the Tambour the first sapphire watch to gain the Geneva Seal, a certification that is considered in the industry to be the greatest guarantee of origin, finish and precision. To obtain it, every component of the watch must have been crafted and hand-finished by the very best craftsmen in the Canton of Geneva and also be subject to multiple inspections.

The main advantage of the Tambour’s sapphire case is of course that it provides unfettered views of the watch’s flying tourbillon-powered manufacture movement, which boasts 80 hours of power. The only downside though is that each watch has to be made to order, and its price is only “available upon request.”