The handbag house gets serious
By Priya Nair, Singapore ยท
Nineteen thousand dollars, from a brand most people associate with monogrammed luggage. That was my first reaction to the 2023 Tambour, and I suspect it's yours too.
Then I saw one in the Marina Bay Sands boutique, and annoyingly, it's good. 40 mm, 8.3 mm thick, the drum-shaped case with the brand name engraved around its flank, an integrated steel bracelet with links that look almost liquid, blue dial with no date, and 50 m. The movement, LFT023, was developed by La Fabrique du Temps, LV's watchmaking workshop in Geneva, with 50 hours of reserve and an open caseback. On the wrist it's slim and comfortable, and I found it more elegant than I expected.
Now the cold water. 19,000 to 20,500 dollars is serious money, and the Tambour has no resale history yet. It's priced well above an Alpine Eagle 41 and getting close to Royal Oak territory, and LV hasn't earned that kind of pricing in watches. Yet.
If you love the design and plan to keep it, fine. If you want your money back one day, wait and see what the pre-owned market does.