Louis Erard keeps bringing fresh takes on métiers d’art. The new Excellence Marqueterie features miniature wood marquetry on the dial. Price CHF3,900
Louis Erard continues to bring fresh takes on métiers d’art, combining a contemporary perspective with a challenging goal of making exclusive craftsmanship more accessible. Their latest creation, the Excellence Marqueterie, features miniature wood marquetry on the dial, which is handcrafted by independent artisan Bastien Chevalier based in Sainte-Croix.
The process of creating each dial is a meticulous, time-consuming endeavor, with each piece handmade by the artisan. The use of marquetry at such a small scale is a feat in itself.
Louis Erard's achievement is notable not just for its technical and aesthetic innovation, but also for its commercial breakthrough. The limited series of 99 pieces is the largest ever produced by the artisan, and the price point of less than CHF 4,000 for a wood marquetry dial in a watch is unprecedented.
The Excellence Marqueterie features a checkerboard pattern, whose trompe-l'oeil effect creates a sense of depth and movement that is accentuated by the play of light.
Louis Erard has previously used this motif in the Excellence Guilloché Main, a series of 99 watches dedicated to hand guilloché. However, the challenge is even greater with the marquetry dial, as recognized by artisan Bastien Chevalier, one of the few experts in this art form in Switzerland. According to Chevalier, creating a geometric design with such precision is incredibly difficult: "You have to be totally precise. The pattern won’t permit any error - the slightest deviation is visible."
Each facet of the checkerboard pattern is hand-cut into the wood with a saw, with each colour being a different type of wood. The use of three shades of blue-tinted tulip tree and grey-tinted willow burl, cut in the direction of the grain, creates a stunning visual effect. The precision required for each cut is of surgical precision, with deviations of even a tenth of a millimeter being noticeable. Bastien Chevalier has even developed his own technique for achieving this level of precision, which involves conscious breathing akin to that of a yoga master.
The dial incorporates more than 70 elements. Once cut, the tiny pieces are sorted and deposited with the tip of a scalpel under a binocular microscope, then fixed on the first mount. The assembly is then glued on the appropriate side. The back is prepared so that it can be attached to the dial’s metal base, and then the outward face is delicately taken again to be sanded to the correct thickness.
This rare craft is well protected by a domed sapphire crystal with anti-reflective treatment on both sides featuring the Louis Erard logo transferred in black under the glass. The classic round case, in polished stainless steel and equipped with the signature fir tree crown, measures 42 mm x 12.25 mm and is water resistant up to a pressure of 5 bars (50 metres / 165 feet).
The transparent blue caseback reveals the Sellita SW261-1 calibre and its special openworked oscillating weight with a black lacquered Louis Erard symbol. Beating at the frequency of 4 Hz (28,800 vibrations per hour), this automatic movement offers 38 hours of power reserve.
The new Louis Erard Excellence Marqueterie Limited Edition ref. 34237AA58 is completed by a blue grained calf leather strap with tone-on-tone attachment points, blue lining and a pin buckle. Its price of CHF 3,900 is remarkably attractive for a timepiece that boasts a wood marquetry dial and is produced in a limited run of 99 pieces. louiserard.com
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