Ceramic Is Back: Louis Vuitton Tambour Ceramic Leads the Trend
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Louis Vuitton has emerged as a challenger in the competitive luxury sports watch sector. The French maison's latest creation is the Louis Vuitton Tambour Ceramic, which redesigns the classic Tambour by combining rose gold with sophisticated brown ceramic.
Innovative Design and Engineering
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Compared to the previous all-steel Tambour versions, the Tambour Ceramic is far more practical because it is water-resistant up to 50 meters. High-tech brown ceramic and rose gold are combined in the new Tambour. Its 40mm case, which is only 8.3mm thick, is protected by a ceramic shield and has the same polished case band, satin-finished lugs, and circular-brushed bezel as other gold Tambours.
Powering the Tambour Ceramic
At the heart of the watch is the reliable caliber LFT023 movement, an automatic manufacture movement boasting 48 hours of power reserve and a frequency of 28,800 vph. The movement features a balance spring and Nivachron alloy, guaranteeing precision and functionality. A transparent caseback allows wearers to admire the movement's intricate details and the wound rotor adorned with the iconic LV monogram and the brand's signature color palette.
This caliber is also present in several Tambour models, including the Chronograph Flyback Damier, Flyback Flytimer Team USA, Tourbillon Chronograph, and Tourbillon GMT. The LFT023 was chosen for this model by Louis Vuitton, indicating their commitment to upholding a high degree of quality across the Tambour collection.
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How durable is ceremic compared to stainless steel?
Ceramic demonstrates superior scratch resistance compared to steel, with 3-4× greater resilience against surface abrasions. However, steel's impact resistance proves more durable long-term, as ceramic's brittle nature makes it prone to cracking under sharp impacts that would only dent steel[6]. In cookware, high-quality stainless steel maintains lifelong durability, while ceramic coatings degrade within 1-3 years. Ceramic's heat tolerance (∼800°F) falls short of steel's unlimited thermal capacity. Though ceramic is significantly lighter, steel's malleability allows dent repair versus ceramic's irreparable damage.
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What is unique about the LFT023 movement?
Created in partnership with Le Cercle des Horlogers, the LFT023 movement is Louis Vuitton's first in-house automatic three-hand mechanism.This chronometer-certified caliber boasts a complex 22-carat gold micro-rotor adorned with recurring 'LV' motifs, and it achieves outstanding precision of +6/-4 seconds each day.The movement has an open-worked barrel cover styled like the brand's monogram flower, polished edges, and 31 transparent jewels with micro-sandblasted bridges. It has a 50-hour power reserve and runs at a frequency of 4 Hz.
