Just Landed: The Louis Erard Excellence Guilloche Main II

This limited-to-100-pieces Louis Erard Excellence Guilloche Main II watch is an odyssey of artistic craftsmanship

Louis Erard is one of very few luxury watchmakers to bring costly dial finishes into the financial grasp of a much wider audience. The Jura-based manufacturer has always kept faithful to its promise – to keep the spirit and exquisiteness of traditional Swiss watchmaking alive, but at an affordable price. Interestingly, when Louis Erard refers to some of its dials as hand-guilloche – this is by no means the stamped effect on the epidermis layer of a dial that many luxury watch brands offer. A hand-guilloche dial from Louis Erard is achieved through the use of a rose engine lathe. Enough said.

Last year Louis Erard released its Excellence Guilloche Main watch. Its dial was achieved through said rose engine lathe – a machine that is no longer in production - an element to this design that only further adds to its allure and desirability.  There is no electrical power used for these machines – it is hand-operated, hence the “hand-guilloche” that Louis Erard refers to in its description. In a vertical position, a brass plate is fixed to the machine’s rotating head. A chisel is then pressed against the brass plate, turning the rotating head using a wheel. This, in turn, imparts a groove into the brass plate. Depending on the preference of the artisan using the machine, or indeed, the design of the Louis Erard watch - the rose engine lathe creates specific patterns whilst turned at a consistent speed. Maintaining this constant speed is a niche skill in itself, so much so that if a lapse in concentration causes the craftsman to misjudge this pressure and speed, the entire dial will be ruined. When done right, however, a hand-guilloche effect on a dial like this new Excellence watch adds considerable depth and dimension to the design.

Although employing a time-honoured dial technique, the Main Guilloche watch released by Louis Erard last year strayed away from a traditional “grain d-orge” or more familiar “Clouds de Paris” effect. Instead, it displays a geometric pattern to give the display a three-dimensional chequered motif. This mix of a traditional centuries-old technique, paired with a contemporary pattern creates a very unique finish that most other watches on the market couldn’t replicate. If that sounds like a watch right up your street, you’ll fall in love with the new Louis Erard Excellence Guilloche Main II watch – a successor to this model.

The new Louis Erard Excellence Guilloche Main II

With the design of the new Louis Erard Excellence Guilloche Main II watch, the emphasis is all on its large and eye-catching diamond dial pattern and its focus on minimalism. These cascading facets are sharp and crisp and have been engraved into the metal, affording some spaces that are filled in with a black colour. The effect is achieved by the same 16th-century technique, but there is a strong contemporary presence running throughout this model. A rhythmic, repetitive pattern is etched into the surface of the dial, providing a vibrant and dynamic backdrop to a set of blued steel central hour and minute hands.

The dial of this Excellence Guilloche Main II watch goes without the Louis Erard logo, donating a sense of clarity to the design. In this wristwatch, Louis Erard draws from the expertise of dial maker Fehr & Cie SA based in La Chaux De Fonds to bring this ancestry form of art to life. The dial is black varnished, engraved and rhodium coated to a high degree of skill and attention to detail. Behind the dial, standards in precise timekeeping are adhered to as one would expect of any Louis Erard watch.

The automatic Sellita SW261-1 Calibre comprises a total of 32 jewels and performs at a rate of 28,800 vibrations per hour, offering a useful 38-hour power reserve. A view of this movement in motion is afforded through a sapphire crystal glass exhibition caseback, including its meticulous decoration and its special openworked oscillating weight with black lacquered Louis Erard symbol upon its surface. The movement sits inside a 42mm three-part stainless steel case construction integrated with 50-meter water resistance. The surface of the steel case is beautifully polished and its thickness stands at a height of 12.25mm on the worst. A domed anti-reflective and scratch-resistant sapphire crystal glass front protects the hand-guilloche dial from damage caused by scratching, denting, dust, heat, light and moisture.

Louis Erard has produced a limited run of just 100 pieces worldwide of this Excellence Guilloche Main II watch. This design also bears the brand’s coniferous elements such as the fir tree crown and the fir tree blued steel hands. The “Swiss Guilloche Main” lettering is also transferred in powdered silver across the surface of the interlocking square pattern on the dial. The new Louis Erard Excellence Main Guilloche II watch is fitted on a classic-looking black calfskin strap with a traditional polished stainless steel pin buckle. Functional catch spring bars are included in the design of the strap, enabling it to be swapped with an alternative band easily and quickly.

If you’d like more information on this limited-edition Louis Erard Excellence Guilloche Main II watch of just 100 pieces, you can check the details out on the product page here, or call and speak to a member of our Jura watches sales team today on 01335 453453

Technical specifications of the Louis Erard Excellence Guilloche Main II watch

• Case: 42mm – stainless steel – three-piece case – domed anti-reflective sapphire crystal glass – sapphire exhibition caseback engraved with limited edition number – fir tree stamped crown – 50-meter water-resistant – height: 12.25mm
• Dial: Matt black varnish – hand-guilloche geometric-inspired pattern featuring interlocking squares and repeated diamond pattern – black filled spaces – hand-guilloche dial using rose engine lathe by Fehr & Cie SA – “Swiss Guilloche Main” lettering applied in a silvered powder – blued steel fir tree hands
• Movement: Sellita SW261-1 – automatic – 32 jewels – 28,800 vph – 38-hour power reserve – elabore grade movement – special openworked oscillating weight – black lacquered Louis Erard symbol
• Strap: Black – calfskin leather – stainless steel pin buckle – functional catch spring bar – blue grained calf leather lining – tone on tone stitching – Louis Erard-engraved buckle
• Reference: 34237AA95.BVA103
• Price: £3,400
• Availability: 100 pieces worldwide