Louis Vuitton’s watchmaking story didn’t begin with a conventional round dress watch or a sports model chasing Swiss codes.
It began in 1988 with the Monterey, a small, strange and quietly radical object designed with Italian architect Gae Aulenti.
For 2026, that design returns as the Louis Vuitton Monterey Ceramic, now interpreted in polished black and forest-green ceramic with an in-house automatic calibre from La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton.
At a glance
- Louis Vuitton has revived the Monterey Ceramic, returning to the maison’s first wristwatch design from 1988.
- The new 37mm models retain the lugless pebble-shaped case, 12 o’clock crown and distinctive removable strap construction.
- Two ceramic versions are planned for 2026, in polished black with a white dial and forest green with a matching dial.
Gae Aulenti’s 1988 watch comes back into focus
The Monterey was originally known as the LV I and LV II, arriving at a moment when Louis Vuitton’s watch ambitions looked very different from the more established codes of Swiss maisons.
Aulenti’s design treated the watch case less like a miniature instrument housing and more like a tactile object, with a lugless pebble shape and a crown positioned at 12 o’clock.
That upper crown placement immediately shifts the personality of the watch.
It removes the familiar asymmetry of a side crown and gives the Monterey a pocket-watch echo, especially when seen away from the wrist.
The LV II was especially forward-looking because it used zirconia-based ceramic at a time when ceramic was still an unusual material in watchmaking.
Louis Vuitton is now returning to that idea with a cleaner technical footing and the backing of La Fabrique du Temps, the maison’s Geneva watchmaking manufacture.
Black and forest green ceramic give the Monterey two moods
The 2026 Monterey Ceramic keeps the original 37mm format, which feels important to the watch’s character.
This isn’t a design that needs scale to make its point, because the shape, crown placement and strap integration already give it a strong presence.
The black ceramic version pairs a polished case with a white lacquered dial and the Monterey’s red and blue accents.
It’s the more graphic of the two, leaning into the crisp contrast that makes the design feel both architectural and playful.
The forest-green ceramic version takes a more tonal approach, matching the case with a tone-on-tone lacquered dial and contrasting yellow syringe hands.
That colour combination gives the watch a different energy, less stark than the black model but just as distinctive.
Both versions are powered by the automatic Calibre LFTMA01.02, developed and manufactured by La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton.
The movement offers a 45-hour power reserve, placing a historically important design inside Louis Vuitton’s contemporary watchmaking framework.
A removable strap system with object-like intent
One of the Monterey’s cleverest details is its relationship with the strap.
The steel caseback provides the elasticity needed for the strap to be removed and reattached easily, allowing the watch head to sit apart from its strap without feeling like an unfinished component.
That construction matters because it reinforces the original idea of the Monterey as an object first and a wristwatch second.
It also opens the door to different modes of wear.
After appearances at Louis Vuitton’s Men’s Spring/Summer 2027 show, the Monterey can also be worn with a leather attachment, bringing back some of the charm and versatility associated with pocket watches.
That flexibility suits Louis Vuitton particularly well, since the maison has always been strongest when utility, travel and personal style overlap.
Details & Specifications
| Brand | Louis Vuitton |
|---|---|
| Model | Monterey Ceramic |
| Case size | 37mm |
| Case material | Polished ceramic in black or forest green |
| Dial | White lacquered dial with red and blue accents on the black model; tone-on-tone lacquered dial with yellow syringe hands on the green model |
| Movement | Automatic Calibre LFTMA01.02 |
| Power reserve | 45 hours |
| Strap system | Removable strap construction using the elasticity of the steel caseback |
| Availability | 2026 |
The Monterey Ceramic is a smart revival because it doesn’t sand down the oddness that made the 1988 watch memorable.
It keeps the pebble case, the crown at noon and the sense that this is a design object with horological purpose, now sharpened by ceramic cases and Louis Vuitton’s modern manufacture movement.
