Basel World Update: Louis Vuitton Steps Up Their Game With Impressive Timepieces

By Seth Semilof | March 12, 2012

My next stop of the day was to check out the Louis Vuitton pieces. They had a cool concept with a Louis Vuitton boat in front of Three Kings Hotel in Basel where it picked up their invited guests in a Mercedes Benz and drove them to the hotel where everyone needed a special invitation to get on the boat.

I was greeted by the PR rep from New York, Michael Kiel, and Director of Advertising, Eric Lichtmess. They showed me the new selection of watches and I was very impressed with the just released America’s Cup piece, since I met with Russell Couts, Oracle Racing Skipper just two months ago and heard about the partnership between America’s Cup and Louis Vuitton.

They had a selection of pieces but I was most impressed with the more complicated pieces that ran for around $35,000 to $55,000 Then they showed me the very complicated, special Tourbillon pieces, along with the very cool Lambour Mysterieuse. I also liked the Tambour Tourbillon Monogram, where you guess, you can customize the piece with your very own monogram initials. These pieces are not cheap, as they run around $250,000 and are well worth the investment.

Then they showed me the new ladies pieces made up ceramic, that will compete with the Chanel/Dior pieces. The Louis Vuitton pieces are very unique and will be a huge hit in 4th quarter of 2012.

I was very impressed with the pieces from Louis Vuitton. They are definitely stepping up their commitment to watches and becoming a true force in the watch industry. The boat and environment was very cool and nothing less than what I would expect from one of my favorite luxury brands in the world.