While sapphire cases are not new, they are a fairly recent development made possible thanks to manufacturing and milling technical advances. Today, just a handful of high-end luxury brands turn to sapphire for their cases because of the time and difficulty involved in their making. Louis Vuitton does so with the new Tambour Moon Flying Tourbillon Sapphire watch that is offered in blue, pink or clear sapphire. It takes more than 400 hours of milling with a diamond grinding wheel to create the case middle, back and sapphire bridge that features the LV initials.
This introduction marks the first time that a sapphire-cased watch receives the Poinçon de Genève (Hallmark of Geneva) certification. The Geneva Seal, as it is also known, attests to the top-level craftsmanship and finishing executed on a watch movement; just a small number of top brands are awarded this certification. The skeletonized 160-part movement inside, caliber LV 90, is meticulously built and finished in the La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton workshops. The mechanical manual-wind movement boasts a flying tourbillon escapement whose cage is formed in the Louis Vuitton Monogram flower. The horns of the case are crafted in 950 platinum or 18-karat pink gold, depending on the model.
$458,000, available at Louis Vuitton in New York, +1 212 758 8877, louisvuitton.com
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