Louis Erard - Excellence Guilloché Main

Louis Erard launched the Excellence Guilloché Main a 99-piece edition with dials made by hand guilloché. Price: CHF 3900. Louis Erard 2021 novelties

Louis Erard continues its exploration of some of the most appreciated artistic craftworks in traditional watchmaking. After the Excellence Émail Grand Feu featuring a precious Grand Feu enamel dial, this is the time of the Excellence Guilloché Main, a limited edition of just 99 pieces whose dials are made piece by piece by hand guilloché, a traditional decoration technique that can be traced back through the entire history of watchmaking.

Abraham-Louis Breguet was the first to introduce guilloché carving for watch dials. Receptive patterns were engraved on the dial plate using a manual lathe. More than merely decorative, these patterns offered the advantage of suppressing the reflection of light on metal dial plates.

For the Excellence Guilloché Main, Louis Erard chose an unusual checked pattern that, just like a trompe-l'oeil, creates the optical illusion of a three dimensional object.

The resulting dial resembles a contemporary interpretation of the marble parquet of a Venetian High Renaissance palace, crossed with an engraving by Dutch graphic artist Maurits Cornelis Escher (1898-1972).

Each of the dials of the Excellence Guilloché Main requires several hours of work in order to be completed. They are made by the dial maker Fehr in La Chaux-de-Fonds, where each of these dials is manufactured, one by one, always by the same artisan.

The pattern is carried out on a manual guilloché rose engine lathe: a century-old machine made of cams, feelers, cranks and chisels. 

Working on a lathe machine like this requires dexterity and coordination: while one hand slowly rotates the piece to be decorated, with the other hand the guillocheur exerts the proper pressure to engrave it. 

The depth effect of the dial is reinforced by the black varnish, used to cover the dial before the guilloché, and the final rhodium plating that gives a silver patina to the brass exposed by the chisel.

The special dial is completed by the signature fir tree hands in blued steel and framed by a 42 mm round case in polished stainless steel with a signature fir tree crown. Offering water resistance up to a pressure of 5 bar (approximately 50 metres / 165 feet), the new model is completed by a black calf nubuck leather with pin buckle. 

The Louis Erard logo is transferred in black under the domed sapphire crystal featuring an anti-reflective treatment on both sides. The “Swiss Guilloché Main” text is transferred in powdered silver.

Visible through the transparent sapphire crystal caseback, the automatic Sellita SW261-1 features a special openworked oscillating weight with Louis Erard symbol. Beating at the frequency of 4 Hz (28,800 vibrations per hour), it offers 38 hours of power reserve.

Driven by its desire to make the exclusivity of traditional craftmanships accessible to many, Louis Erard is offering its Excellence Guilloché Main ref. 66237AA52 at the price of CHF 3,900, which is amazing considering this exclusive type of finish. louiserard.com