Louis Erard
- Founded
- 1931
- Based in
- Le Noirmont, Switzerland
- In our catalog
- 2 watches from $3,625 to $3,740
For most of its life Louis Erard was a quiet maker of classic Swiss watches. Since the late 2010s it has become one of the more interesting brands under $5,000, mostly through limited collaborations with independent watchmakers and designers, which tend to sell out fast.
History
Louis Erard founded the company in La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1931. It now works from Le Noirmont in the Jura mountains, and its 2340 model is named after the village's postcode.
From 2019 the brand changed course and started inviting outside names to design limited editions on its regulator watches: Alain Silberstein, Vianney Halter, Konstantin Chaykin and others. These pieces, usually a few hundred watches each, gave Louis Erard far more attention among collectors than its size would suggest. Alongside them it kept its own Excellence and Le Régulateur lines.
Signature models
- Le Régulateur Gravé: A 39 mm regulator, with the minutes on a large central hand and the hours and seconds in their own sub-dials, here with a grained blue dial.
- 2340: The first Louis Erard with an integrated bracelet, in titanium and steel, powered by a Sellita SW300-1.
What it's known for
Regulator dials, where hours, minutes and seconds each get their own space, are the house speciality. Louis Erard also offers hand-finished dials (enamel, guilloché, marquetry) at prices that are low for that kind of work. Most movements come from Sellita, sometimes with a regulator module.
Price and positioning
Regular models cost about $3,000 to $5,000, with collaborations at a similar level and tourbillons around $20,000. That puts Louis Erard near Frederique Constant and Nomos, but with more unusual dials and a collector following driven by the limited editions.
Louis Erard watches in our library
- Louis Erard Le Régulateur Gravé ($3,625)
- Louis Erard 2340 ($3,740)