Credits: Article and images by Martin Green @ Quill & Pad. See the original article here - https://quillandpad.com/2023/08/15/monterey-i-ii-the-almost-forgotten-first-watches-of-louis-vuitton-reprise-2/
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Paris’s Gare d’Orsay dilemma
In 1981, she was chosen for a task that would become her most famous project yet: to convert Paris’s Gare d’Orsay into a haven for impressionist art.
Built between 1898 and 1900, Gare d’Orsay served as the terminus for railways arriving into Paris from the southwestern part of France. Located on the left bank of the Seine, it occupies a prime piece of real estate in the French capital.
In 1939 the Gare d’Orsay was demoted to receiving only local trains as its platforms were not long enough to accommodate the larger, cross-country trains. In 1970 there were plans to demolish the station in favor of a new hotel. This was successfully blocked by the minister for cultural affairs, who proposed protecting the Gare d’Orsay by placing it on the list of historic monuments, a position that was confirmed in 1978.
However, since the station did not serve as a railway station anymore, another purpose for it had to be found.
It was eventually proposed to create an art museum dedicated to the period between 1848 and 1915, effectively combining both the impressionist and post-impressionist movements. Aulenti was in charge of the interior design, a momentous task: how do you convert an enormous open train station space into a sanctuary where visitors can enjoy some of the most famous and beautiful art pieces the world has ever seen?
This was just the type of challenge Aulenti excelled at. The result was a unison of old Paris and new Paris, effectively giving the large open space a more appropriately intimate character to display the art pieces, while at the same time maintaining the grand overall look of the train station. While the criticism from her peers and trade magazines was brutal, Aulenti summarizes it best herself, “The press was very rude, but 20,000 people a day stand in line waiting to get in.”
And that makes Gare d’Orsay one of the most important and most visited art museums in the world.
The unicorn: Monterey I
We do not know if Aulenti met Louis Vuitton during her time in Paris or later, but together they began a tradition that has remained in place until today. Most people think that Louis Vuitton’s first watch was the Tambour, which was launched in 2002, however the brand actually launched a watch collection that began with Monterey I in 1988. This was an unusual world time watch with alarm function as well as date and moon phase. The Monterey I was powered by a quartz movement and housed in an 18-karat yellow gold case.
Its designer? Gae Aulenti.
Gae Aulenti wearing the Louis Vuitton Monterey I that she designed (photo courtesy Martinelli Luce)
Monterey I is an enigma as even finding pictures of it is rare, let alone the watch itself. Louis Vuitton most likely didn’t make very many of them. I saw one for sale a few years ago, but didn’t act upon it fast enough and still regret that to this day as I haven’t seen another since.
Louis Vuitton Monterey II on the wrist
Less complicated and slightly less rare, yet equally exquisite, was the Monterey II, also designed by Aulenti. The watch itself is simpler then the Monterey I, only indicating the date as well as an alarm function, again powered by a quartz movement.
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Credits: Article and images by Martin Green @ Quill & Pad. See the original article here - https://quillandpad.com/2023/08/15/monterey-i-ii-the-almost-forgotten-first-watches-of-louis-vuitton-reprise-2/
