Louis Vuitton, the Parisian trunk maker and fashion house with roots back to 1854, started making watches in 1988 with the models LV I and LV II, soon to be nicknamed Monterey. And in March 2025, at the occasion of the Louis Vuitton Women’s Fall-Winter 2025 runway show, several of the models wore the original LV II in green or black ceramics as a pendant or wristwatch. Rumours were set alight: Is a revisit in the making? Now, as of October 6, we can tell you: the answer is yes!
The pebble-shaped Louis Vuitton Monterey with a crown at 12 o’clock is back, in a yellow gold, 39-millimetre version with an in-house automatic movement decorated according to haute horlogerie standards. The dial is exquisitely executed white enamel with double enamel-stamped railway tracks for minutes and hours – we’ll get back to that.
The watch which is limited to 188 pieces is, according to Matthieu Hegi, Artistic Director at La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton, “Respecting its design and spirit. We maintain the same graphic codes, but strive for a more modern and elevated feel.”
The original LV I and LV II were designed by Italian architect and designer Gae Aulenti (1927-2012), one of the most influential architects and designers of the post-war period. She is famous for leading the transformation of a Paris train station into the Musee d’Orsay in the 1970s/80s, as well as her many showrooms for the Fiat empire, and furniture for Knoll, Kartell and Zanotta.
Aulenti’s choice of a lugless pebble shape, which in horological history is also referred to as disco volante, dates back to the 1930s. Ever since, this shape has been used both by mainstream brands like Audemars Piguet and Cartier, and in recent days by micro brands like Furlan Marri and Lebond. Ms. Aulenti’s watches were also tying in with the travel spirit of the maisôn by equipping the 40-millimetre LV I with world timer, date, and GMT. The smaller 37-millimetre LV II with ceramic cases in green or black had a more sober dial and the functions were date and alarm – another two great travel companions. Also note that this makes Louis Vuitton one of the pioneers of ceramic cases.
One of the white dials on Louis Vuitton Monterey requires around 20 hours of work. First the artisanal masters in La Fabrique du Temps apply five layers of vitreous enamel carefully painted onto the white gold dial prepared with fibreglass. Each of these layers is fired at 800-900°C, with careful handling so that it doesn’t break. This is followed by another 10 layers of paper-glass being applied one by one, again each layer slowly fired at 720°C before the next layer can be added. This is how you achieve the inimitable deep opaline gloss that can only be achieved by handmade enamelling.
This pure and minimalist dial is very similar to what could be seen on the second dial on the back of the 2023 Louis Vuitton x Akrivia LVRR-01 Chronographe à Sonnerie, albeit with reversed colours, as this collab had a red inner track and blue outer track.
Last but not least, the maisôn shared a fun anecdote upon the release of Louis Vuitton Monterey, namely how it first got its affectionate nickname in the 1980s. Surprisingly, it had nothing to do with the Californian seaside city, but rather the American way of pronouncing montre, the French word for watch!
