Tambour Bushido Automata

Following the award-winning LV525 caliber, Louis Vuitton continues its daring journey of artistic horological expression – this time crossing over to Japan, and the powerful and rich world of the ancient Samurai.

This 16-second mechanical spectacle captures the Bushido code through five animations, powered by the manual-winding LV 525 caliber. At the push of a button, the automaton springs to life: a yokai swings aside to reveal a jumping hour hidden on the helmet; a katana-shaped retrograde hand glides to display the minutes. The Samurai’s expression shifts with quiet power — its jaw opens to unveil the word “Bushido” in striking red kanji, framed by mother-of-pearl teeth, and an eye transforms from a rounded LV Monogram Flower into a pointed one, as if by magic.

The Tambour Bushido Automata pushes the boundaries of watchmaking art. This was especially the case in the realm of enameling, where through a mix of time-honored techniques endless possibilities and pioneering new techniques were explored and developed.

The Tambour Bushido Automata required 140 hours in total of engraving on both the dial and the push-piece and crown. Working in tandem with the engraving art is groundbreaking enamelwork, where La Fabrique des Arts truly experimented with new techniques and innovations – ultimately requiring around 120 hours in total of enamelwork.

For the first time in Louis Vuitton collections, the case and bezel are fully engraved and enamelled. Achieved through firstly hammering the case with hundreds of tiny marks, a coat of translucent red enamel is then applied. The enamel fills the holes when fired under high temperatures, the risk of breakage ever-present, and which creates a grained effect requiring 200 hours of work.

Imaginative, evocative and singularly Louis Vuitton, the creation highlights the House’s audacity and daring as it continues its adventure of the Tambour Automata.