Text by Ana Franco.
One detail caught our attention at Louis Vuitton’s spring/summer 2026 women’s collection presentation, which took place last Tuesday at the Louvre Museum in Paris. One of the models walking the runway, dressed by Nicolas Ghesquière in a black ribbed two-piece outfit, wore a watch attached to a gold chain belt. What was this device that was worn around the waist rather than the wrist, and which was being presented to society at an event that would be reproduced ad nauseam in the media?
We have no doubts now: it is the LV I, and it is not new, but rather the French brand’s first wristwatch. Launched in the late 1980s alongside the LV II, it was designed by architect Gae Aulenti, who, imbued with the travelling spirit of Louis Vuitton, equipped it with a railway minute track and a device that displayed the date, time zone and time anywhere in the world. It measured 40 mm in diameter and its pebble-shaped case, without lugs, was available in white gold and yellow gold.
The model ended up being nicknamed Monterey, due to the way Americans pronounce the French word montre (watch in English), as the LV I and LV II were originally known as Montre 1 and Montre 2. And this wasn’t the first time they had appeared in a Louis Vuitton fashion show: in the autumn/winter 2025 collection, we saw some LV IIs from 1988.
Now, La Fabrique du Temps, the brand’s watchmaking workshop, has updated it and is now selling a limited edition of 188 yellow gold 39 mm watches called Louis Vuitton Monterey. The watch features a white grand feu enamel dial and blue and red hour and minute hands. Its crown, at 12 o’clock, is a nod to the pocket watches found on the original models. A three-hand automatic movement with a 45-hour power reserve replaces the quartz calibre of the original antique pieces, adding to its technical appeal.
The new Monterey is only available by telephone or at the brand‘s physical stores, at a price of approximately €56,000.
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