Independent watchmaker Louis Erard has been changing things up in recent years and the latest shakeup (aside from a new watch that we’ll get to) is the reorganizing of its catalog. Gone is the long-running Excellence collection, replaced by the Noirmont line, which is further segmented into three distinct categories: the classic Noirmont, the artistic Noirmont Métiers d’Art, and the Noirmont X for collaborations. The new Louis Erard Le Régulateur Gravé Noir watch joins the Noirmont Métiers d’Art collection, telling us right off the bat that the piece will have been decorated with some traditional handicrafts.
Despite all the name changes, what remains true at Louis Erard is its loyalty to regulator watches. The Le Régulateur Gravé Noir continues the tradition but incorporates — for the first time in the brand’s history — a sector dial design. So, what we have here is the customary separation of the hour, minutes, and seconds hands (placed at the upper subdial, the center, and the lower subdial, respectively) accompanied by concentric rings and a railroad track around the periphery. Rather than applying or painting the sectors and indices, Louis Erard opted for relief engraving in rose gilt on the black finely-grained dial. The fir tree hands — a signature detail of Louis Erard Watches — are also rendered in rose gilt. The resulting effect is handsome and, according to the brand, captures the “neo-vintage spirit” it’s after.
The engraved sector dial is housed inside a 39mm polished stainless steel case, which measures 12.82mm thick and 45.90mm lug-to-lug. Like the hands, the crown is also inspired by fir trees and the case is water-resistant to 50 meters. No surprises here but both sides of the case are fitted with sapphire crystal. The back of the watch shows us the Sellita Caliber SW266-1 powering the Louis Erard Le Régulateur Gravé Noir watch. The movement includes an open-worked rotor decorated with a black lacquered Louis Erard logo, operates at 28,800 beats per hour, and supplies around 38 hours of power reserve.
Finally, finishing off the look of the watch is a grained calf leather bracelet in beige, with tone-on-tone stitching and a black underside. The quick-release strap, which measures 20mm at the lugs and tapers to 18mm, is fitted with a stainless steel buckle.
Le Régulateur Gravé Noir is not a limited edition piece; it will be part of Louis Erard’s permanent collection and will retail for CHF 2,900. I have to say, this watch, which I find to be quite elegant and charming, looks much more expensive than its official sticker price suggests, particularly in this era of high watch prices that we’re currently living in. The sector dial suits the regulator layout well and while I’m not generally a fan of rose gold, I think it looks quite nice combined with the black dial, steel case, and beige strap. For more information about the Le Régulateur Gravé Noir watch, please visit Louis Erard’s website.
