Colorful, flashy, luxurious, and easy to use. Those are my words to sum up the Louis Vuitton Tambour Horizon Light-Up after spending some time with the iconic luxury brand’s latest smartwatch. Frankly, I appreciate the straightforwardness of this watch’s overall presentation. If you a) don’t like smartwatches, b) don’t like the design of the Tambour Horizon, c) prefer understatement over flashiness, or d) all of the above, then this probably isn’t for you. And that’s all before we even mention the price. Well, if you haven’t chosen one for yourself yet, keep an open mind and take a look at the most unabashedly enjoyable luxury smartwatches.
We won’t go into all the specs and technical details here, but you can easily glean all the information from the release article here.
The Tambour Horizon Light Up tells you what it is all about just by the name. It highlights how important an “always-on” screen is. It doesn’t try to impress with specs, but dazzles with spectacle. Seriously, I couldn’t stop tapping the screen to activate the vibrant theatrical display that is nicely accented by the curved edges of the sapphire crystal. Of course, there are times when you don’t want to set off fireworks on your wrist and you just want to extend your battery life. Luckily, it’s super easy to switch between the four different modes from the app or by swiping up on the watch. “Blossom” is the most fun mode, where every time you interact with the watch, its stunning light display kicks in. “Explorer” mode is meant for your typical day, weekdays to weekends in Blossom mode, when you just want the connectivity features without the glitz. “Submarine” is basically a “silent” mode that silences notifications, and finally “Saver” mode turns off most of the features to extend your battery life.
Swipe right on the screen to navigate to the “My Day” feature, which manages your personal basics like calendar, events, weather, and health tracker. Swipe left to navigate to the “My Travel” feature, which includes flight information and city guides. And swipe down to check your messages and notifications. Everything is very clean, simple, and easy to navigate, making it perfect for someone like me who doesn’t want to deal with yet another complicated device in their life.
At first I wasn’t sure what the pushers on the side of the case were for and worried they’d add unnecessary complexity to such an easy-to-use smartwatch. Luckily, that’s not the case – the top pusher simply shuffles through watch faces, while the bottom pusher can be set to quickly launch an app of the wearer’s choice.
This new operating system is a special customization of Wear OS and has generated a lot of buzz as it is the “first ‘MFI’ or ‘Made For iPhone’ certified outside of Apple’s own ecosystem.” In practical terms, what this means for iPhone users is that the LV Connect app is full-featured and runs very smoothly, unlike many previous Android apps that were glitchy or had limited functionality for Apple users.
The Tambour Horizon Light-Up is 44mm wide, 13.2mm thick, and has a screen size of 1.2 inches. The domed edges of the crystal make it appear more compact than it actually is, but when the dial goes into kaleidoscopic Blossom mode and expands to the edge of the case, its true purpose becomes clear. It is joined by 24 LED LV emblems dotted around the circumference, visually enhancing the wonderfully flashy display. It is so special and fun that it is like nothing else out there.
It’s very well finished and does a good job of making you forget (or, more importantly, not care) that it will be outdated in the future, which is one of the most important tasks for a $3,500-$4,000 smartwatch. That pesky inevitability matters less to buyers of luxury electric cars like Tesla: if it’s outdated in two years, buy a new one. This is a luxury product with a focus on a lifestyle that travels a lot, as this is the buyer the brand has in mind. Over 35 million Apple Watches will be sold in 2021, and there are plenty of popular and excellent products from Samsung, Garmin, and other manufacturers. Luxury smartwatches like the Tambour Horizon Light Up are for buyers who don’t want what everyone else has, for a few possible reasons.
Not only luxury cars, but also cameras (not to mention smartphones) are in an obsolescence cycle. Buying a product like a Leica Q2 costs about twice as much as a comparable camera from another brand, and will inevitably be replaced by a Q3 in a few years. With the exception of products like clothing, accessories, and mechanical watches, consumers today are prepared for future obsolescence. We pay for the exclusivity of the product, the quality of the finish, and the impression it makes on us, even if it is not rational for 95% of the population.
The battery on the Louis Vuitton Tambour Horizon Light-Up lasted about a day, but since I left it in Blossom mode, it should last a little longer. I recommend charging it every night. The version I wore has a classic stainless steel case with a leather LV-branded strap with Louis Vuitton’s excellent quick strap change system, and costs $3,400. There are several PVD-coated case options available for looks and scratch resistance, which are a bit more expensive at $4,100. You can find more details at louisvuitton.com.