This Is Louis Vuitton’s Most Ambitious Watch Yet

There’s something rather fitting about Louis Vuitton unveiling its most philosophically nerdy watch project ever in Tokyo, a city that understands precision, attention to detail, and craftsmanship better than most. Officially, this Louis Vuitton x De Bethune LVDB-03 Louis Varius Project is about high watchmaking. Unofficially, it’s about travel: not just across time zones, but through time itself.

This drop is also Louis Vuitton’s most innovative watch launch to date, while also somehow being one of its most approachable. Yes, it’s deeply technical. Yes, it revolves around a centuries-old mechanism known as the Sympathique. But thanks to LV’s design code and narrative flair, the complexity doesn’t feel intimidating.

At the heart of the project is an idea borrowed from the late 18th century. Originally conceived by Abraham-Louis Breguet, the Sympathique was a master clock designed to automatically wind and reset a watch. In other words: park your watch in the clock overnight, and by morning it’s perfectly synchronized. A mechanical marvel.

Louis Vuitton and master watchmaker Denis Flageollet, cofounder of independent brand De Bethune, have now reimagined that same deep-cut idea for the modern traveler.

The project consists of two elements: a wristwatch and a clock. The LVDB-03 GMT Louis Varius wristwatch is produced in just 12 pieces, while the monumental Sympathique clock exists in only two examples. Even the clock’s home is a flex: a bespoke titanium Louis Vuitton trunk, inspired by the House’s trophy trunks and engineered to house a 10kg horological masterpiece that travels in serious style.

Buy the clock, and a watch comes with it (but not the other way around). The wristwatch itself quietly shows off: wrapped in a deep blued-titanium case and propped up by gleaming platinum lugs, it looks more architectural than flashy. Flip it over and there’s the open caseback, where the manual-winding movement is signed “Louis cruises with Denis”, a charming in-joke that is also a reminder this is a 12-piece-only club. This is LV remember, so naturally the watch also comes it in own scaled-down titanium trunk.

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