ouis Erard makes more than just timepieces: watches with spirit. This new limited edition of Excellence natural stones and hand-crafted glass even contains a touch of philosophy. A little shock of the times. The dialogue of eternity and the immediate, of tradition and the contemporary. What is the contemporary spirit, if not the art of living in the present moment? What better expression than the small seconds to tell this dynamic of immediacy?

Louis Erard Excellence Petite Seconde comes in three versions — in a limited edition of three times 99 pieces — taking up the codes of the series of precious stone and mineral glass dial Régulateurs of 2021. With the same interplay of materials and colours: the midnight blue of aventurine, the forest green of malachite, the morning blue of lapis lazuli. Three stones charged with positive energies. Three emblematic stones for Louis Erard, House of the Franches-Montagnes, magical region of the Jura ridges, where the sky, the fir trees and the earth are one.

The dials are openworked. The small seconds pierces the flat stone and glass of their opaline dial. The contrast goes beyond the aesthetic shock. It has a meaning: the meeting of times and materials.

Each dial is unique and bears the traces of the millions of years that have shaped the natural stones and mineral glass from which they are made. The precious stone dials recall the long history of traditional watchmaking, of which Louis Erard is the son. Their achievement is in itself a technical feat. Cutting the stones or the glass into discs of a few fractions of a millimetre with all the precision required by the art of watchmaking is a test of patience and delicacy. A sophistication usually reserved for high-end watches.

The small seconds gives tension to the composition and accentuates its balance, both subtle and frank, charged and sober. The new format – 39 millimetres – is no stranger to this. The case has been further refined and all the signature elements are present, metal indexes, fir-tree hands, logo crown. There is nothing more to add, nothing more to take away.

Each watch has a matching seamless grained calf leather strap, but with tone-on-tone attachment points. Deep blue for Excellence Petite Seconde Aventurine, morning blue for Excellence Petite Seconde Lapis-Lazuli, forest green for Excellence Patite Seconde Malachite, and Louis Erard blue lining. Complete with a polished stainless steel pin buckle and functional catch spring bars enabling the strap to be changed quickly.

And as usual, the price shock: CHF 2,500. Unprecedented in watchmaking at this level of mechanical mastery, design and craftsmanship. Once again, Louis Erard meets the challenge of contemporary fine watchmaking with art and style.