We have to hand it to Taylor Swift. For someone who could have any watch she wants, the megastar has made some left-of-center horological choices lately. There was that vintage Concord watch she wore as a diamond-studded choker to the Grammys—one of the first times we’ve seen her wear a timepiece in a while, even if it wasn’t on her wrist. Now, there’s a contemporary watch that could very well prove to be a future classic, maybe with some newfound help from Swift.
At the game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Denver Broncos this weekend, Swift wore Louis Vuitton’s newly revamped Tambour. Launched in 2023, the collection is a slimmer take on an early LV watch line from 2002 that’s been updated with integrated bracelets in the mode of Gérald Genta and features movements from La Fabrique du Temps. There’s a connection here: In 2011, LV purchased the manufacturer, which designs and builds high-end movements for Louis Vuitton, Gérald Genta, and Daniel Roth. While LV’s watch division under the leadership of Jean Arnault initially focused on rarified haute horlogerie pieces, the move into luxury sport watches allows the maison to establish itself among everyday watch consumers.
David Eulitt/Getty Images
Louis Vuitton
Of course, the Tambour is no entry-level watch, even in steel. Starting at $19,000, it features a micro-rotor automatic from La Fabrique du Temps designed by its founders, Michel Navas and Enrico Barbasisni. Beyond the impressive movement, the Tambour boasts a matching brushed-and-polished bracelet that seamlessly integrates into the drum-inspired case, forming a fluid shape. The dial, meanwhile, is a modern take on the “sector” design with an outer minute ring, applied Arabic indices, an inner, vertically brushed section in a contrasting color, a lumed and skeletonized handset, and a sub-seconds display above 6 o’clock.
Swift’s version in 18k yellow gold with a gray dial turns up the heat and more than doubles the price to $54,000. Detractors will inevitably complain that this is simply too much to ask for a “fashion watch”—but this entirely misses what Louis Vuitton and Jean Arnault have been working toward with La Fabrique du Temps. Strategically focused on building the company’s watch division into something that commands respect from even the most die-hard horological nerds, they’re slowly turning LV into a world-class manufacturer. Beautifully finished and undeniably handsome, the Tambour is a thoughtful remastering of an old record—which is why it’s fun to see one on the wrist of the world’s most visible pop star, someone known for tweaking her own classics.
If the collection flew somewhat under the radar for the past year, it’s certainly not anymore.
