In 2025, Louis Vuitton launches the Tambour Bushido Automatic, the third creation from La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton, which continues to push the boundaries of fine watchmaking and craft excellence. The story of the Tambour Automatic begins with the Tambour Carpe Diem, launched in Europe in 2021, which pays tribute to ancient culture, art and craftsmanship, interpreted through a dynamically changing mechanical movement on the dial.
Featuring surrealist snake and skull motifs, this 21st century automatic interprets the symbolism of the Vanadis in a poetic and subversive way. Two years after winning the “Boldness Award” at the prestigious Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève, La Fabrique du Temps launches the Tambour Opera Automata, which comes to China and is inspired by the fascinating “face-changing” art of Sichuan Opera.
Today, the Maison enters Japan to explore the rich and profound world of ancient warriors. Samurai were a group of warriors in pre-modern Japan who upheld deep-rooted values of strength, discipline, loyalty and duty, expressed through a complex moral code called Bushido.
Bushido is the cornerstone of the samurai lifestyle, a code of values and honor as well as artistic expression that has shaped Japanese society for centuries. At the heart of Bushido is the mask, an essential part of the samurai’s armor. Designed to convey strength and courage in the face of adversity, the mask can display both power and majesty through its changing expressions, while also embodying an aesthetic and symbolic meaning.
The Tambour Bushido Automata watch captures the spirit of the samurai in a 16-second watchmaking spectacle that pays homage to Japanese art, culture and history. Powered by the LV 525 manual-winding movement, the watch is further enhanced by its extraordinary vitality, showcasing the exceptional craftsmanship that has been carefully crafted by Louis Vuitton’s La Fabrique du Temps workshop.
Composed of 426 parts and two patents, the LV 525 movement took a total of 180 hours to assemble and is the same basic movement as the award-winning Tambour Carpe Diem watch. Developed by Louis Vuitton master watchmakers Michel Navas and Enrico Barbasini at La Fabrique du Temps, the Tambour Bushido Automata features five animations on the dial that together drive the mesmerizing expressions on the samurai mask, displaying the time on demand.
Against a shimmering gold background, a calm, neutral samurai appears. Pressing a button activates the automaton, and an animation of a supernatural Yokai appears, rising and swinging to reveal the jumping hours engraved on the forehead of the helmet. Meanwhile, a retrograde display disc in the shape of a graceful samurai sword slides to display the minutes.
A few seconds later – the hours and minutes have finished showing – the mesmerizing spectacle of Tambour’s automatic continues: the coolly confident face beneath the samurai mask becomes bolder, a hint of steel begins to show. The calm gaze gradually solidifies, revealing determination and strength.
This complication brings one of the eyes to life, transforming, as if by magic, from a circular LV Monogram flower to a piercing pair of eyes. Meanwhile, the jaw captures the samurai’s concentration. It opens to reveal the message within – the words “Bushido” in bold red Japanese, surrounded by a row of handcrafted mother-of-pearl teeth – before closing again.
The dial background is equally richly decorated. Above the Mount Fuji at nine o’clock, a crimson sun is positioned to indicate the automatic’s 100-hour power reserve.
The finishing touch of this horological masterpiece is its mesmerizing dial, which is full of moving symbolism and artistry, and pays tribute to Japan’s rich history and culture. Like its predecessors, the Tambour Bushido Automata watch offers La Fabrique des Arts an opportunity to truly push the boundaries of the art of watchmaking. In the case of enamelling, La Fabrique des Arts has masterfully combined time-honoured techniques such as engraving and enamelling to explore and develop new and avant-garde technologies.
Every element on the dial inspires exploration and innovation, turning the Tambour Bushido Automata into a canvas of exquisite, expressive beauty. The result is a dial that is rich in detail, layered and fascinating, while capturing the unique emotion and energy of the samurai.
Take the samurai helmet, for example: it is not only a piece of armour for protection, but also a symbol of the samurai’s unique identity and status. Master engraver Dick Steenman and his team first engraved a rose gold samurai helmet, then fired it at high temperatures using the calamine method to give it this symbolic meaning. This thin layer of carbon residue, which has a burnt texture, is then re-engraved by hand to let the gold underneath shine through.
This stunning interplay of light and shadow is also reflected in the samurai’s visor (face armor), another amulet of strength and power. The visor is carved in white gold in bas-relief, with meticulous details and contours, making it lifelike. The monster on the helmet is also carved in rose gold. The eyes of this monster are inlaid with rubies and are full of vitality. Only the skillful hand of the engraver can create a sense of three-dimensionality and perspective, giving it life.