Geneva watchmaker and jeweller Cédric Johner works without plans, making a few watches a year, and for Louis Erard he hand-decorates the oscillating weight of every movement.
Louis Erard today introduces Le Régulateur Louis Erard x Cédric Johner, in Blue and Mauve, each limited to 178 pieces. Johner calls his approach “intuitive watchmaking”: he makes one component, then the next, which will fit in.
Each oscillating weight carries 230 beads, placed one by one with a perloir, a jeweller’s tool, in his Geneva workshop. The 39mm steel case is Louis Erard’s Excellence, with its fir-tree crown and regulator calibre.
The dial carries Johner’s signatures: engraved guilloché over a Blue or Mauve sunray base, concave-turned hour and minute counters, and the hexagonal bezel opening of his Abyss case design.
Manuel Emch, the brand’s artistic director and CEO, approached Johner to make a watch not reserved for collectors, with no concessions and all the signatures of his art.
The release sums up the partnership in one line: “Together, we’re always stronger.”
The Basics
Brand: Louis Erard
Model: Le Régulateur Louis Erard x Cédric Johner (Blue; Mauve)
Reference: 85249AA01.BVA150 (Blue); 85249AA02.BVA153 (Mauve)
Diameter: 39mm (lug width 20mm; lug to lug 45.90mm)
Thickness: 12.82mm
Case material: Polished stainless steel; domed hexagonal sapphire crystal, anti-reflective on both sides; transparent black case back
Dial: Blue or Mauve PVD sunray base; engraved guilloché; concave-turned counters; rhodium-plated leaf-shaped hands
Water resistance: 5 bars (50m/165ft)
Strap: Grained calf leather, black (Blue) or grey (Mauve), tone-on-tone stitching; polished steel pin buckle
Limited edition: 178 pieces per colour
The Movement
Calibre: Sellita SW266-1, élaboré grade; openworked oscillating weight decorated by Cédric Johner
Functions: Regulator: hour hand in counter at 12 o’clock, central minute hand, seconds hand in counter at 6 o’clock
Winding: Automatic
Power reserve: Approx. 38 hours
Frequency: 4Hz (28,800 vph)
Jewels: 31
Images courtesy of Louis Erard.