I don't really get the Light Up watch, or rather why they are even trying.
#1
Smart watches are tech, no matter what they do. Why it matters is that fashion brands can't really own them. Ever. Vuitton has total control over every part of their products. Even the stuff that they don't manufacture themselves, those things are made to their specifications. There are a very few exceptions, some lifestyle products are off-the-shelf, like their pencils (they literally just rebrand a mediocre mid-range pencil and sell them in a Vuitton pouch, fun fact,
Gucci sells the very same product with their own branding), and the other exceptions are tech products. Vuitton can't design drivers for their earpods, can't design custom chips or screen for their smartwatch, and most importantly, these things run an operating system, that they cannot develop or control. They use Android, they did put a cheap skin on it, but it is still Android.
#2
It is Android. It is a mediocre experience, Android Watch as a platform is struggling and since it wasn't able to achieve any substantial user base, Google is visible neglecting it.
Most of the wealthy Vuitton buyers use iPhones. Obviously. If someone wants a smartwatch, using an Android one instead of an Apple Watch is like trying to run in snow boots. And being an Apple Watch partner is out of the question, that train never even got close to the station. The only viable way to make a 'luxury' smartwatch is what Apple is doing with Hermès. It only works well if it is a products of a tech company who owns the platform, who get the fashion magic sprinkled on by a partner. Apple chose Hermès. They wanted only the best, and had the money and negotiating power to get that. Anything lesser would have impacted their own brand too.
#3
They get obsolete. Batteries die, the software gets slow, etc... these products are not as long lasting as a classic watch or any Vuitton leather good. This goes back to point #2, if Apple carefully picked the $1.300-1.500 price range for their 'luxury' watch range (since the gold watches and most Edition models since 2015 failed miserably), then pricing a lesser quality product way above that is insane. We won't ever know, but I wouldn't be surprised if they can only sell a few thousand of these.
———————
My thought on their regular watches are a bit different though.
They are not popular. At all.
Their quartz fashion line is very expensive compared to similar Gucci or Hermès. But since those are truly fashion watches, they never really mattered.
Their mechanical game is taken seriously though. They invested heavily into that, both money and time wise. The fact that 1 of the 5 Arnault children is the head of just their Watch division tells a lot. But there are 2 factors why they are a worse pick than a legacy watch brand.
#1
It takes time. A fun new manufacturer can gain some popularity quickly, but they are not trying to compete with Nomos, but with Rolex. And it took decades and decades for all of the top legacy brands to achieve their position. Years of good marketing sprinkled with good innovation, and exceptional quality along the way. Vuitton is only 21 years old as a watchmaker. And even though they are trying very hard, most watch enthusiasts still consider them just a fashion brand, no matter how much effort they did put into it. We can call them watch snobs, but they are the ones who judge and decide, the ones that drive both the primary and secondary market. They will judge differently after a Tambour will be the first watch landing on Mars, or the one that King Charles accidentally drops in the Mariana Trench, but until it gains historic relevance, Vuitton will remain a fashion brand.
#2
The quality is not there. Even on their high end watches. They came up with amazing technical innovations in La Fabrique du Temps, but their manufacturing is far from what Rolex and LeCoultre can do. And since Vuitton was not shy about the price tags, their watches compete with those high-end watches, that has both the history and the impeccable craftsmanship. The last time I was reading a review on one of their super high-end watches, the close up pics were excruciating. I have a good analogy for that. They are doing the same with their leathergoods. Look at a Capucines from afar. Very well made. Then look at the edge paint up close, and compare it to an Hermès, or even a Peter Nitz (because that is the leather equivalent of an A. Lange & Söhne). The Vuitton will feel cheap and poorly done. This is the same with their watches. They just try to skip that additional (and pricy) extra step, that is usually the 'hand-made' part, and is very labour intensive. But in that high-end sphere you cannot skip that, because it will stink. Some hype beast princes might pay for a blinged out LV for instagram points, but those won't retain their value or have any significant value in 30-50-90 years.
They are playing the long game, they have all the money and time for that, but it is a gamble. For both them and their watch buyers. If they, by chance, gain relevance in the watch world, having a first generation Tambour from 2002 will be an amazing privilege. But if not, which seems more likely at this point, then...
They are trying — or tried — the same with Moynat. They bought an ancient brand to make their own Hermès/Goyard competitor, but it couldn't really gain traction ever since. You can't just buy heritage off the shelf and fake it till you make it.
Sorry for the long post
