When Louis Vuitton first revealed the LV I and LV II watches in 1988, collectors were immediately drawn to their eye-catching and sleek exteriors. Ever one to be ahead of the curve, the Maison had solicited Gae Aulenti to spearhead the project of creating the first-ever watches at Louis Vuitton. An Italian architect and designer, Aulenti had recently completed the challenging project of turning a former train station in Paris into what is now the Musée d’Orsay, the design of which remains as fresh and forward-thinking today as it was at the time.
It is precisely this avant-garde approach which made both the LV I and LV II so successful upon their release. The LV I was made from either white or yellow gold in a boundary-breaking pebble shape, with the crown set at 12 o’clock, while the LV II’s noticeably smaller size made it a compact alternative, available in both black and green ceramic with the added practicality of an alarm function. Both watches, with their track and date displays as well as GMT and world time function, carried through Louis Vuitton’s globetrotting spirit, echoing the lifestyles of those whose wrists would be adorned by the affectionately nicknamed “Monterey” watch, after the French terms “Montre 1” and “Montre 2”, as pronounced by Americans.
Now reimagined for the 21st century, the Louis Vuitton Monterey, crafted by La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton, breathes new life into the beloved classic. The number of editions is limited to 188, a nod to the year 1988 when the watch was first released. The new watch is a “symbiosis between the old and present, respecting the design and spirit of the original while reinterpreting it for today,” says Matthieu Hegi, artistic director at La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton. “We retained the polished ‘pebble’ spirit, the unique leather attachment and the iconic crown at 12 o’clock, all hallmarks of the 1988 Monterey.”
The Louis Vuitton Monterey elevates and refines the original, with its pebble-shaped case measuring 39mm crafted from yellow gold, while the dial is expertly made from Grand Feu enamel, in keeping with the minimalist style that makes the watch such a wearable and polished wrist piece. Each case, retaining the original watch’s shape, is constructed and polished by hand at La Fabrique des Boitiers Louis Vuitton, with the addition of a crown at 12 o’clock influenced by the pocket-watch design. The crowns are moulded by hand-operated machining, while details such as the Clous de Paris texture of the notching give the watch a uniquely pleasing aesthetic quality. Engraved on the back of the case is “1 of 188”, a discreet reminder of the object’s rarity. In an ode to Gae Aulenti’s original watch, the Monterey possesses a quick-release strap system that reimagines the previous lug-less shape and caseback formation.
The Grand Feu enamel exemplifies timeless craft and expert material knowledge, with the process of creating an enamel dial taking approximately 20 hours per piece, as layer upon layer of enamel are carefully applied onto metal. A risky firing process at temperatures around 800 to 900 degrees Celsius puts the painstakingly created enamel layer to the test, with the high temperatures making it subject to cracking. Furthermore, the white enamel colour represents a true technical challenge, with the timings of the layered applications critical for achieving the desired hue. The Monterey is then completed with white gold watch hands and syringe-style hands in a red lacquer matched with the seconds hand in a blued steel, an homage to the graphic style of the original LV I and LV II timepieces.
In addition, the watch’s new iteration features an in-house automatic movement which powers the motion of the clock hands, in lieu of the previously used quartz calibre of the initial design. The LFTMA01.02 automatic movement is encased behind the closed caseback, with no detail of the watch left unattended, reflected in the micro-sandblasted edges, sandblasted bridges and circular-grained main plate of the interior. The calibre also benefits from an 18K rose gold rotor trimmed with V-notches to evoke the Maison’s monogram, a subtle La Fabrique du Temps seal of excellence, and 28,800 vibrations per hour with a 45-hour power reserve. With innovative technical elements and classic aesthetic know-how, the new Louis Vuitton Monterey is sure to become a cult classic for the present day, not replacing the firm favourites LV I and LV II but proving that a careful blend of past and present can rejuvenate what was already a truly timeless design.
