Louis Erard makes more than just timepieces, these are watches with a spirit. This new limited edition of the Excellence Petite Seconde with natural stones and hand-crafted glass even contains a touch of philosophy. A little shock of the times. The dialogue of eternity and the immediate, of tradition and the contemporary. The new Louis Erard Excellence Petite Seconde comes in three versions in a limited edition of 99 pieces each.
The midnight blue of aventurine, the forest green of malachite, the morning blue of lapis lazuli, all three stones charged with positive energies. Three emblematic stones for Louis Erard, House of the Franches-Montagnes, the magical region of the Jura ridges, where the sky, the fir trees, and the earth are one.
The dials are open-worked. The small seconds pierce the flat stone and glass of their opaline dial. The contrast goes beyond the aesthetic shock. It has a meaning: the meeting of times and materials. Each dial is unique and bears the traces of the millions of years that have shaped the natural stones and mineral glass from which they are made. The precious stone dials recall the long history of traditional watchmaking, of which Louis Erard is the son. Their achievement is in itself a technical feat. Cutting the stones or the glass into discs of a few fractions of a millimeter with all the precision required by the art of watchmaking is a test of patience and delicacy. A sophistication that is usually reserved for higher pricepoint watches.
The small seconds give tension to the composition and accentuate its balance, both subtle and frank, charged and sober. The case 39 mm case has been further refined and all the signature elements are present, metal indexes, fir-tree hands, logo, and crown. There is nothing more to add, nothing more to take away. The watches are powered by the Swiss automatic Sellita SW261-1 calibre with 31 jewels and which provides a power reserve of 38 hours when fully wound while beating at a frequency of 28,800 vph.
Each watch has a matching seamless grained calf leather strap, but with tone-on-tone attachment points. Deep blue for Excellence Petite Seconde Aventurine, morning blue for Excellence Petite Seconde Lapis-Lazuli, forest green for Excellence Petite Seconde Malachite, and all paired with a Louis Erard blue lining. Complete with a polished stainless steel pin buckle and functional catch spring bars enabling the strap to be changed quickly.
Sticker Price CHF 2,500 —approximately $2,500 USD. For more info on Louis Erard click here.
