Introducing the Le Régulateur Louis Erard x Vianney Halter II

Louis Erard have got to be one of the most underrated watch brands out there.  I really love the way they approach watch design in a collaborative manner while retaining a strong core identity. For example, they take their signature complication, the Régulateur, and present it in the individual styles of their artistic and horological collaborators. There’s the Alain Silberstein edition, the Olivier Mosset and their own interpretations like the recent Gravé Noir. Now they’re launching their second collaboration with watchmaker Vianney Halter, dubbed the Le Régulateur Louis Erard x Vianney Halter II.

Vianney Halter is known for his particularly extravagant horological creations that focus heavily on steampunk aesthetics. With his works, the mechanisms of the watch are as much a piece of the artwork as the bold industrial cases. That design philosophy finds itself expressed here through the satin brushed steel case which measures 43mm in diameter by 10.95mm thickness. Amping up the steampunk vibe are the 12 red gold gilt rivets that decorate the bezel and which are also found on the oversize crown.

Zooming in on the dial, there are two versions available with inverted designs. The first has a brushed rhodium plated base with red-gilt subdials and minute scale while the second has a red-gilt dial and rhodium plated scales. As a regulator model, the subdials consist of hours and seconds with the central hand displaying minutes. The scales themselves are raised with railway track markers giving them a quasi-Art Deco appearance that looks great. It really highlights the contrasting tones and finishing.

On top of that, I like the off-centre positioning of the hour and second subdials. It adds an extra degree of playfulness to the design and makes it stand out when held next to Louis Erard’s other Régulateur watches. This has been achieved by rotating the movement by approximately 30 degrees anticlockwise. The hands on the various dials are presented in Vianney Halter’s signature style in blued steel.

Below the dial and visible through the exhibition caseback is the Sellita calibre SW266-1, an automatic movement with a 38-hour power reserve. These days that power reserve is noticeably small, so hopefully Louis Erard will move to an updated edition of the calibre in future. Still though, it’s nicely decorated with an open worked rotor featuring a black lacquer Louis Erard logo.

The other upside of a Sellita movement is price as the Le Régulateur Louis Erard x Vianney Halter II is CHF 4,444 (approx. £4,000). Vianney’s own creations tend to be in the 30k-70k range. In a similar manner to how Kurono Tokyo offers Hajime Asaoka’s designs at more accessible prices, if you’re a Vianney Halter fan without the requisite budget, this is a fantastic opportunity to pick up some of his work.

More details at Louis Erard.

​Oracle Time 

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