In 2019, it's something of a rarity to see someone wearing a watch, let alone one on each wrist. But from the moment you meet Michel Navas, Louis Vuitton's master watchmaker and a man who has earned a reputation as one of the most skilled watchmakers of his time, his passion for timepieces is apparent.

Smartwatches could be seen as the biggest threat to the craft of traditional watchmaking – but funnily enough, Navas wears one on his right wrist. When asked how traditional watchmaking will survive the 'smart device' age, Navas laughs and says, "I'm not afraid." He's similarly candid about the fact that he believes everyone will need a smartwatch in the future – "Of course you can use it to tell the time, but there's so much more you can use it for," he says.

It's perhaps this openness to change that's propelled Navas' career and contributed to the success of Louis Vuitton's ever-evolving timepiece offering. In the world of high watchmaking, Louis Vuitton and La Fabrique du Temps – the maison's Swiss watchmaking home – are just fledglings.

"We are very new in the watchmaking world – only 17 years old, so we have to be different," says Navas. "Our team of watchmakers, they are very classical. And at Louis Vuitton we have to be classical, but we have to have something different – something contemporary. We have to give the pieces the Louis Vuitton touch."

Navas is in Queenstown to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Tambour Spin Time – the watch that is arguably the best example of the Louis Vuitton touch that he speaks of. Rather than go down the route of a traditional dial, Navas employed 12 cubes that jump instantaneously every 60 minutes to display the new hour – a novel idea that's now an icon in the watchmaking world.

To mark the anniversary, the revered watch gets a new take on the inimitable Louis Vuitton touch – the Tambour Spin Time Air features 12 cubes that almost appear to float in the air. Navas believes it's this unique approach that attracts clients from around the world to Louis Vuitton's luxury timepieces. "They're interested in Louis Vuitton watches because they're different," he says. "If you want something else, something different, you come to Louis Vuitton."

He explains that the daring ideas that set Louis Vuitton apart can take a while to come to fruition, however. "We have to have an idea first, and then we discuss it and surround ourselves with the engineers, the designers, the watchmakers and see if we can agree if it's a good idea. Then we start the project," he says.

It would appear that good things take time in the Louis Vuitton watchmaking world. "It's not like fashion," Navas says. "You have two fashion shows, in the winter and in the summer, but in watchmaking you have to be very, very patient because when you have an idea you have to wait two, three or four years."

As for Navas' ideas that we might see come to life as an exquisite Louis Vuitton timepiece in the near future, he says that he's currently intrigued by simple watches. "I build a lot of complicated watches, but now I'm interested in simple watches," he explains. "It's difficult to make something that is simple but original," he admits. "I want the watches to be simple to read and simple to use."

But true to Navas' signature, he says anything simple would still have a point of difference – it's all part of the Louis Vuitton way, after all. "We need to dare to display time differently. We need boldness," he says. Although the first criterion for any timepiece he creates is for it to be an efficient, good watch, he says the second criterion is that it has to be different. "The kind of watch you can't find elsewhere."

This feature was published in STYLE magazine.