Louis Vuitton Monterey: when the Maison reinterprets an icon
The radical avant-garde aesthetics of the first wristwatch made by Louis Vuitton in collaboration with the architect Gae Aulenti – a pebble shape and no lugs – made history upon its release in 1988. Forty years later, La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton reinterprets this iconic timekeeper in a limited edition of 188 copies. This time, the quartz movement is replaced by a La Fabrique du Temps manufacture self-winding calibre, made to compete with today’s high watchmaking standards.
Visionary roots
Copying the Swiss codes didn’t even occur to Louis Vuitton when the Maison entered the watchmaking world by the end of the 1980s. Their first creation was given to Gae Aulenti, at the height of her fame after she had successfully transformed Paris’s Gare d’Orsay into a museum.
Fruit of the effort: 2 models displaying a daring design. The LV I and the LV II are a tribute to pocket watches: a polished pebble shape, no lugs but a crown located at 12 o’clock and an innovative use of black or green ceramics. Equipped with a GMT complication, a world time feature and an alarm, they were much more than simple fashion accessories and followed the functional and cosmopolitan codes of Louis Vuitton linked to travelling. The name Monterey comes from the way the American tried to pronounce “montre”. Appreciated by experienced collectors, they have quickly become sought-after pieces.
Louis Vuitton Monterey’s: sublimating an iconic case
The new Monterey sticks to its fundamentals: an organic-looking 39mm gold case with a mirror-polished finishing. Getting rid of the lugs strengthens the “pebble” look, like a stone smoothed out by time. The crown, relocated at 12 o’clock, is adorned with a Clou de Paris pattern and was polished by hand, as a reminder of the Maison’s leatherworking legacy.
This tactile feature is also a key detail, as it creates a physical and emotional interaction between the watch and the wearer. Under the removable leather strap, a discreet engravement “1 of 188” is hidden – highly significant for the collector’s Second marché.
“Reinterpreting a creation means respecting its design and spirit. We maintain the same graphic codes, but strive for a more modern and elevated feel.”
Matthieu Hegi, Artistic Director of La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton.
Technical vows: choosing Grand feu enamel
The true revolution lies in the dial. While 1980’s watch makers only swore by flat and legible surfaces, the new Monterey displays a white Grand feu enamel dial. An exploit: this rare technique requires laying vitreous layers on top of each other and cooking the dial every time at 800 and 900°C – about 20 hours of work.
Every step of the process can sound the death knell of the whole piece: a bubble, a crack, and you must start it all over again. Choosing a pure white hue is even more ambitious, as this tint is extremely hard to obtain. The enamel powders are examined under a microscope before being brushed over a treated white gold disc. After 4 main layers and successive polishings and firings, the piece is complete: an almost-opalescent shiny surface, both UV and time-proof.
The dial’s patterns – red and blue ray-track circles – are not printed but enameled as well, thanks to a meticulous pad-printing process that requires 8 layers by color, each layer being cooked at 460°C then 600°C. Such a rare feat that makes this dial one of the most remarkable watchmaking creations of today.
A mechanical soul
A self-winding calibre developed and decorated by La Fabrique du Temps beats behind the opaque case back. With a frequency of 28,000 vibrations per hour (4Hz), it offers a power reserve of about 45 hours. The edge of the 18ct rose gold oscillating weight is pierced with a myriad of stylized V, a pattern evoking the Louis Vuitton Monogram.
The mechanism gathers several graceful details: the La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton seal on the balance, a pearlized main plate, sandblasted bridges and micro-blasted edges – all invisible but treated as thoughtfully as a movement meant to be revealed by a transparent case back. Making the case back opaque is not an obstacle but an aesthetic affirmation: only connoisseurs and the 188 owners of this watch know what’s lying under…
This new Louis Vuitton Monterey is much more about reinterpreting an icon than redesigning it.
€56,000
See the technical specification sheet of the Louis Vuitton Monterey.
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