First Collaboration Between Louis Erard and Alain Silberstein
Louis Erard watches are embarking on a new strategic route with a reinterpretation of the brand's regulator watch in collaboration with the architect and watchmaker Alain Silberstein, available in two limited editions of 178 watches. This is a double first: in its 90 years of existence, Louis Erard has never given carte blanche to a designer, while Alain Silberstein had never before designed a regulator watch.
The watch's design starts with the mechanics: the brand's regulator, an exclusive caliber made for Louis Erard. The regulator is at the heart of Louis Erard's collections since the brand's relaunch in 2003. The regulator remains more than ever at the center of the brand's strategy, explains Alain Spinedi, director: "We have always positioned ourselves at the entry point to the market of Swiss mechanical excellence. The regulator is the perfect example of this tradition."
For Alain Silberstein, the regulator is also a technical, aesthetic and philosophical essential: "All my work is guided by reading the time and my inspiration always come from the movement." For him, the regulator is the centrepiece, a model for the breaking down of time focused on the central minute hand. However, this complication had escaped him: during his 40 years of creating watches, he had never made a regulator. Therefore, his partnership with Louis Erard was a natural step.
The regulator, says Alain Silberstein, transports him far away to the clocks on buildings which historically told the time with just one hand, or to train station clocks. This is what inspired his regulator.
His design starts with the central minute hand, reduced to the most basic form of an indicator: an arrow, large and yellow on the black version, and deep blue on the white version. This minute hand points to simple lines like those on the train station clocks that were his inspiration. The rest is designed in the same style of geometric simplicity: rectangle, triangle, circle. Reflecting Alain Silberstein's signature style, the hour hand is a large red triangle, while the seconds are indicated by a serpentine hand. The colors follow a similar logic, reduced to the basic spectrum of blue, red and yellow, inspired by the Bauhaus movement, a way for Louis Erard to pay tribute to the birthplace of modernism, which celebrates its 100th anniversary this year.
Since the closure of his company in 2012, Alain Silberstein has turned his talent to working with other watchmaking brands such as MB&F, Romain Jerome and now Louis Erard.
Technical Specifications: Limited Edition of 178 Pieces Each
The case, in stainless steel or stainless steel black PVD, measures 40 mm. It has an AR-coated sapphire crystal, a display back, and it is water resistant to 50 meters. Specially-decorated case back crystal: Alain Silberstein X Louis Erard 1 of 178.
Movement is the Swiss manual wind ETA caliber Peseux 7001 with a Louis Erard RE9 complication, with 17 jewels, 21,600 vph and a power reserve of 42 hours. Top grade movement with Côtes de Genève decoration, blued screws and Louis Erard engraving. Functions are: regulator hours, minutes, seconds, and power reserve.
The dial is available in black or white matte or opaline (matte silver). Signature hands designed by Alain Silberstein. Red lacquered hour hand, yellow or blue lacquered minute hand, blue or yellow lacquered seconds hand, white or grey lacquered power reserve hand. Hour hand on counter at 12 o'clock, central minute hand, seconds hand on counter at 6 o'clock, power reserve hand at 9 o'clock.
It comes on a black calfskin leather strap with signature stitching in red, or on a brown calfskin leather strap with signature stitching in blue. Steel pin buckle.
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