Reviewing the Louis Erard Excellence Email Grand Feu II Watch

There will be only 99 pieces of this special Excellence Grand Feu II watch from Louis Erard made available. The enamel dial of the watch is handcrafted by Le-Locle-based experts Donze Cadrans using a traditional method, whilst through the back of the watch, a special black lacquered Louis Erard-stamped rotor can be admired

Le Noirmont-based watchmaker, Louis Erard has spent years democratising luxury watches crafted from traditional Metiers d’Art techniques, making them available to a wider audience for a pleasingly affordable price. This is one area in which the brand has excelled, gaining a revered reputation amongst enthusiasts and other rival watchmakers. For under 4,000 CHF, Louis Erard released a stunning Excellence Grand Feu enamel dial watch last year, adding another feather to its hat. Now, the year 2022 marks the company’s second Excellence watch to feature a grand feu enamel dial, having collaborated with Donze Cadrans to execute the display to an incredibly high level. This time, it comes in a 39mm diameter and boasts a beautiful white enamel dial pierced by red and blue hues. Here is the Louis Erard Excellence Email Grand Feu II watch.

Louis Erard operates under the strategic and artistic direction of Manuel Emch, who has dedicated a lot of time and effort to harnessing traditional Swiss watchmaking techniques and celebrating the industry’s decorative dial methods and time-honoured art forms. This is not an easy thing to do, especially in an industry driven by the popular demand for smartwatch technology and new Avant-Garde designs. Like many true watch devotees, however, a classical approach to watchmaking will always be highly respected amongst those who can appreciate a true luxury watch for what it is - a thing of intricacy, complexity and refined beauty. Louis Erard has, over the years, collaborated and shared visionary ideas with renowned watchmakers like Eric Giroud and Vianney Halter, not forgetting Alain Silberstein, of course. With each release, the company can add yet another memorable voyage to its portfolio, by adding a highly respected name in Haute Horlogerie next to it. Doing so adds a sense of depth to the story each wristwatch tells.

The new Louis Erard Excellence Email Grand Feu II watch uses the Petite Second model as its base design and has been handmade in the Donzé Cadrans workshop. Its white surface is pierced by blue Roman numeral hour markers. A splash of red is seen in the XII hour location, as well as eight markers around the small second function at 6 o’clock. As with many other Louis Erard watches, the central hour and minute hands finished in blue are of the “fir tree” type, inspired by the shape of the trees that form a backdrop to the village of Le Noirmont where Louis Erard watches are handcrafted.

Achieving the grand feu enamel dial

Each of the three colours used in the design of this dial by Louis Erard requires a separate turn in the kiln. The temperatures here must reach over 800 degrees Celsius – each colour a specific shade that will be permanently bonded to the metal base of the dial. Needless to say, there is no room for error in the colour-achieving process of this dial. A great level of expertise is required to avoid mishaps inside the kiln – thus the skills and know-how of a dial maker like Le-Locle-based Donze Cadrans is paramount, who has been specialising in this form of art since 1972.

Once the colours are fixed into the metal base of the dial, they are permanent and are resistant to fading. The copper base has enamel powder sprinkled onto its surface before being placed inside the high temperatures of the kiln. To avoid warping, blistering, bubbling and cracking of the dial, this process is done carefully and slowly, repeating the process until the correct thickness is achieved. The dial must then be cooled until it is safe to begin the process of the coloured hour markers. Since this is no regular dial printing process, the colour of each hour marker must be perfect, thus high numbers of dials are rejected if they fail to meet the specific criteria. With each different colour used on a grand feu enamel dial, a separate process must be carried out.

Other details of the new Louis Erard Excellence Email Gran Feu II watch

The new Lous Erard Excellence watch, as mentioned, measures a 39mm diameter. The polished stainless steel case sits at a depth of 12.25mm and its crown is beautifully knurled before its surface is engraved with triangular shapes that evoke the fir trees from which Louis Erard so often takes inspiration. Inside the watch’s 50-meter water-resistant case is the Sellita SW 261-1 – a reliable self-winding movement that offers a power reserve of 38 hours and a performance rate of 28,800 vibrations per hour. Louis Erard adds a unique touch to its architecture with an open-worked rotor that has been adorned with a dedicated black lacquered Louis Erard logo, which is put on show through an exhibition caseback crafted from sapphire crystal glass.

The new Louis Erard Excellence Email Grand Feu II watch is completed on a red grained calfskin leather strap with blue stitching and a polished stainless steel buckle. The strap also features catch spring bars that enable a quick strap change whenever required. If you’d like more information on the new Excellence watch by Louis Erard, you can view the watch in more detail here or call and speak to a member of our sales team here at Jura Watches on 01335 453453

Technical Specifications of the new Louis Erard Excellence Email Grand Feu II watch

• Case: 39mm - height; 12.25mm – stainless steel – polished – 50-meter water resistance – anti-reflective sapphire crystal glass front – exhibition caseback – knurled crown engraved with fir tree-inspired decoration
• Dial: White – enamel grand feu – blue Roman numeral hour markers – red accents – small second sub-dial at 6 o’clock – handcrafted BY Donze Cadrans – blued fir tree hands
• Movement: Automatic – Sellita SW 261-1 – self-winding – 28,800 vph – 38-hour power reserve –open-worked rotor decorated with a black lacquered Louis Erard logo
• Strap: Red – grained – calfskin leather – blue stitching – polished stainless steel buckle – engraved with the Louis Erard logo – catch spring bars for quick strap changes
• Reference: 34238AA54
• Availability: Limited to 99 pieces
• Price: £3,400