If you read Worn & Wound with any regularity, you know that we’re pretty big fans of Louis Erard’s limited edition collaborative regulators around here. What can we say? There’s something incredibly fun and appealing about having a great independent watchmaker tied to a watch that’s on the accessible side. That said, there are fair criticisms of these limited editions, particularly as they’ve been “normalized” and we’ve all been conditioned to just kind of expect them two or three times per year. The one I hear most often is that Louis Erard is that each new collaboration effectively amounts to a dial variant, a skin grafted onto the the brand’s regulator format doesn’t necessarily reflect the creativity of the watchmaker being referenced. But on handful of occasions (like with Alain Silberstein and Vianney Halter) Louis Erard allow themselves to expand beyond the dial and add flourishes to the case as well. These editions, in my mind, are even more effective because they represent another rung of ambition in this ongoing project. The brand’s latest collaboration, another release with Konstantin Chaykin, follows this tradition with a reimagined case construction and dial layout while maintaining a real connection to Chaykin’s aesthetic.
The Louis Erard x Konstantin Chaykin Unforgettable is based on the Slavic myth of the Frog Princess, and the dial looks like, well, a frog, with big reptilian “eyes” at 9 and 3. If you’re used to Louis Erard’s regulator platform you’ll immediately identify that we usually see scales for the hours and seconds running vertically up and down the dial, and here we have a horizontally aligned format that serves thematic goals of the watch. The hours can be found at 9, while the running seconds are now at 3, and we also have a 12 o’clock crown, a result of the movement’s new orientation (this also fits the thematic tone of the watch – the frog “princess” should be wearing her crown on her head, after all). The horizontal layout evokes Chaykin’s “Wristmons” watches unmistakably. Two versions are available: green and purple.
The dial is a cool departure for Louis Erard for sure, but the real headline here is definitely the case. Constructed from Grade 5 titanium, it’s an entirely new shape and size for Louis Erard, measuring 40mm in diameter and 12.45mm thick, smaller and thinner than the more commanding 42mm we’ve grown accustomed to. It’s also styled in a more contemporary way, with satin finishing (as opposed the high polished steel in previous versions of these watches) prominently defined and scalloped lugs. It’s a far more distinctive design, and shifts at least some of the focus from the dial, something Louis Erard always seemed keen to avoid in earlier limited editions.
The Unforgettable is filled with little details that should entice Chaykin fans. The “nostrils” (which are lacquered) on the dial, for instance. And a leather strap that the brand says is made from the same lacquered leather as samurai armor. It’s all quite absurd and playful, which is very much the Chaykin vibe, this watch, I think, gets closer to it than Louis Erard’s previous Chaykin collaborations. It’s a niche watch for sure, but that’s something that truly defines this particular watchmaker.
Each dial variant will be produced in a 178 piece limited edition. The retail price is CHF 4,500. Louis Erard
