Louis Vuitton’s watch director, Jean Arnault, is a man on a mission — and he’s looking to shake things up in a big way

It has been barely a year since it was announced that Jean Arnault would be taking the reins of watch director at Louis Vuitton. And in that short span of time, he has accomplished quite an impressive number of things: He has revived two much revered independent watch brands (Gerald Genta and Daniel Roth), completely shaken up Louis Vuitton’s timepiece universe (he will be discontinuing 80 per cent of its product lineup), and launched the Louis Vuitton Watch Prize, an initiative aimed at fostering the next generation of independent watchmakers. It’s clear that the 25-year-old is highly ambitious. What comes as a surprise is how uninterested he is in doing things the usual way. 

Take his approach to the brand’s new and highly publicised Tambour, for example. It’s an impeccable sports-luxe watch that has been given the thumbs-up by every horological news outlet that has reported on it. What’s a lesser known fact is that each Tambour has been assembled entirely by one watchmaker — an approach that watch brands tend to keep for their haute horlogerie timepieces, but one that Arnault intends to extend to all timepieces bearing Louis Vuitton’s name.

This explains the watch’s higher price point, which Arnault admits is “completely different” to what Louis Vuitton is used to. (The steel models retail at S$27,100, almost S$12,000 more than the brand’s highest-priced Tambour Street Diver watch.) Yet, he is not deterred. He is intent on respecting the traditions and artistry of watchmaking to the letter. And, as it’s made abundantly clear during the interview with CNA Luxury, that’s not all he has set his sights on, either.

What were your thoughts when you first took on the role of Louis Vuitton’s watch director?

I've always been passionate about watches, and the one thing that really enticed me to start this mission with Louis Vuitton is, above all, [Louis Vuitton’s watchmaking manufacture] La Fabrique du Temps (LFT): The beauty of the atelier; the artisans. Everything that we do there, I felt, was underrepresented in the past. So that was my first real goal: To get out there the story of LFT being probably one of the best high watchmaking ateliers in Switzerland, and to let collectors know that every single Louis Vuitton watch is done in a very artisanal way that respects the traditions of watchmaking.

You have been busy at LFT with the revival of Gerald Genta and Daniel Roth under the manufacture. Can you tell us more about this?

This is a fun story. So you know that the brands have had a very interesting couple of years, between their independence with The Hour Glass [who purchased a majority stake in Daniel Roth in 1994, and Gerald Genta in 1996], then Bvlgari [who bought the brands in 2000], and now to us. This came about at my father’s first visit to LFT in April of 2022, during Watches and Wonders, where he met Michel [Navas] and Enrico [Barbasini], the co-founders of LFT. He didn't know them very well before and when they told him that they both started their career at Genta, something clicked in his mind. He turned to me and said: ‘Bvlgari has Genta, right? What are they doing with it?’ When I told him that they were reviving a few pieces but there was no solid plan to revive [the brands] properly, he turned to Michel and Enrico and said: ‘Well, I think you should take care of it.’ And that was that; we started taking care of the brands again.

The news caused much excitement.

Yes, Daniel Roth was probably one of the most revered independent watchmakers back in the 1980s — and also the first truly independent watchmaker. People credit others like [Philippe] Dufour, but actually, Daniel Roth was the first one to launch his brand [in 1988] after [he left] Breguet. It has been a really interesting adventure. Only two or three people are working for that part of the business; it’s still very much a startup. And we're taking things very slowly — the Swiss way. So today, LFT incubates these two brands, but the goal is to make them live as their own entities under LVMH, with no Louis Vuitton co-branding.

What is your vision for Louis Vuitton's horology universe?

To make the finest watches possible in the industry today throughout the [different] complication segments — from a three-hand movement with an integrated steel bracelet, to high complications and unique pieces. We're lucky to be a part of a big brand because, for 20 years, Louis Vuitton has invested significant amounts of money in watchmaking. We're also very lucky to be able to afford new foundational moments like this one, where 80 per cent of the collection is going [to be discontinued], and the reintroduction of this [Tambour] is at a completely different price point than what we're used to. A traditional watch company would have done this probably over 15 years. We can afford to do this quite quickly. I want the artisans who work on the super-complications to be represented throughout all our timepieces — which was not the case before when we had quartz and Selita movements. Now, every single watch made by Louis Vuitton is assembled by one watchmaker from start to finish. We won't be able to produce a lot of timepieces, but to respect the artisanal craft, we will keep this going, regardless of the success.

Do you have plans to develop the Tambour into a full-fledged collection?

Actually, no. We're going to stick with [this small-seconds model]. I've seen a lot of brands [launch a collection] and then have 150 references in the collection two years later. I feel like this is such a big shift that we must build the foundations of these five references and wait a minimum of five to six years before developing anything else. So you won't see a chronograph, a perpetual calendar or anything like that [in the Tambour collection]. We have other collections coming in the future, for sure, but this collection will stay this way — not one timepiece more or less.

How many collections are you looking at for Louis Vuitton?

I think two to three collections would be the sweet spot for us. We haven't built that far ahead yet; we are really focused on harmonising our collections.

The other initiative that you started is, of course, the Louis Vuitton Watch Prize for Independent Creatives. Why did you feel the need for this?

Independent watchmakers put so much effort and dedication into their work — and it needs to be shown to the world. Louis Vuitton can help do that. I know we have nothing to do with independent watchmaking, but it's really about putting a spotlight on the industry on a regular basis. It's about keeping the interest of collectors in independent watchmaking to ensure that the existing brands, or the new ones coming in, have a platform. I love the fact that watchmakers from all around the world are participating in the prize. It’s quite amazing because they don’t have watchmaking machines or the same kind of resources; they have to make do with what they have. And it's not only wristwatches. There are also clocks, amazing time objects, and things with crazy movements that you’d never see otherwise.

What do you want people to know most about Louis Vuitton watches?

I want people to understand that the quality we put in our timepieces is the same quality you see on all Louis Vuitton products. We will never decrease our quality to increase production — even if it means producing very few pieces to keep that standard of quality. The worst quality you will see [from us] is the one we do today because tomorrow, we will improve and do better — in terms of finishing, design and movement precision. We constantly challenge ourselves to do this.