Once again, Louis Erard is going off the beaten track by combining contemporary design and high-end watchmaking expertise in fine stone and artisanal glass dials, geological time and mechanical precision, the visible signs of luxury, and accessible fine watchmaking.
Three variations, each in a limited edition of 99 pieces. The Franches-Montagnes watchmakers have chosen Maison’s historic model, Le Régulateur, to carve a new family of watches from the raw material of stones and mineral glass.
Each of the three editions is limited to 99 pieces, but every watch is a unique piece in itself: each dial bears the mark of the millions of years that have shaped the stones or a unique array of speckled filaments. The pure design brings these fragments of Earth back up to the 21st century.
Cutting stones and glass to meet the finesse of a dial requires expertise in fine watchmaking. The challenge is twofold, since the dial has two levels and the material is cut to reveal the regulator’s snailed opaline dual counter. The hours are displayed at the top, the seconds at the bottom, and the large signature fir tree minute hand is in the centre. Discreet glossy silver indexes further showcase the technicality of the regulator.
Each watch has a matching calf nubuck leather strap with tone-on-tone stitching. “Deep” blue for the Excellence Régulateur Aventurine. “Oceania” blue for the Excellence Régulateur Lapis-Lazuli. “Basilico” green for the ’Excellence Régulateur Malachite. Complete with a polished stainless steel pin buckle and functional catch spring bars enabling the strap to be changed quickly. Finally, the price: S$4,180 each.
