We accept A very rare, attractive and collectible titanium wristwatch from the independent Swiss brand Louis Erard. The company was founded in 1929 by Louis Erard and André Perret. The present prototype was made in 2022 in collaboration with Alain Silberstein, a renowned watch designer from France. Drum-shaped titanium grade 2 case with titanium grade 5 ‘brancard’-shaped lugs, diameter 40 mm, 11.6 mm thick, crown with red lacquered Louis Erard symbol, sapphire caseback with “Louis Erard x Alain Silberstein” engraving on the rim. Light grey regulator-style dial with black hour sub-dial at 12 o’clock, Alain Silberstein’s signature colored hour markers, red lacquered hour hand, blue lacquered minute hand and yellow lacquered seconds hand. Caliber Sellita SW266-1, self-winding with skeletonized and personalized Louis Erard rotor, power reserve up to 38 hours. Functions – display of time in hours, minutes and seconds on three separate positions. Black nylon strap, Velcro closure with titanium cap. Unique prototype watch.
The rules of the game have changed at Louis Erard with the launch of two Louis Erard x Alain Silberstein Excellence Regulateur models in 2019. With this design, the independent Swiss watch brand has actually attracted a lot of attention from collectors for the first time in its history. The watch was designed in collaboration with Alain Silberstein, an icon of modern watchmaking, a conceptual designer and founder of the eponymous brand. Unfortunately, the Alain Silberstein brand finally went bankrupt in 2012, but the man didn’t disappear from the horizon and continued to embody his own version of the Bauhaus style he invented in watches from other brands such as MB&F (the HM2.2 ‘Black Box’ in 2009 and the LM1 in 2011), Romain Jérôme (the Subcraft watch launched in 2015; Romain Jérôme is bankrupt as of 2020) and, since 2019, with Louis Erard.
The unique character of the Louis Erard x Alain Silberstein Le Régulateur ‘One-eyed panda’ Unique Prototype watch comes from the charisma of Alain Silberstein, who implements his unique version of Bauhaus style in collaboration with the Louis Erard brand.
The collaboration of Louis Erard and Alain Silberstein wouldn’t have been possible without Manuel Emch, who managed Romain Jérôme and convinced Alain Silberstein to work with this brand. Manuel Emch, who is now a delegate of the Board of Directors of Louis Erard, joined the team as a consultant in 2019. Apparently, one of his ideas was to offer affordable (compared to premium luxury brands) collectible watches created in collaboration with independent watchmakers, designers, fashion brands and even bloggers. The amazing story of Louis Erard collectible watches began with the first two 2019 Louis Erard x Alain Silberstein models, black and white. As monochrome-watches.com noted in 2019, in its 90 years of existence, Louis Erard has never given carte blanche to a designer. Now, collectors have a new and very attractive collectible from Louis Erard, which has been boldly collaborating since then, while the collaboration watches are sold on the secondary market above their retail price.
Even against the background of this dynamically developing situation, the present example undoubtedly attracts attention. It’s the first unique watch prototype by Louis Erard, at least in modern times. For the first time, the Louis Erard x Alain Silberstein watch features a panda dial with a light grey background and a black sub-dial to indicate the hours. That’s where the nickname ‘One-eyed panda’ comes from.
The unique character of the Louis Erard x Alain Silberstein Le Régulateur ‘One-eyed panda’ Unique Prototype watch comes from the charisma of Alain Silberstein, who implements his unique version of Bauhaus style in collaboration with the Louis Erard brand, and the bold approach of the brand itself, which dared to step out of the mid-price segment and embark on the adventure of creating collectible watches. Therefore, the present lot is definitely an excellent buy for the collector who wants a rare and unique prototype wristwatch, a remarkable and important piece of the history of the modern collectible watch market. The attractiveness of this watch is enhanced by the unique ‘One-eyed panda’ dial, which makes its character even more spectacular and eye-catching.
| Case | Titanium case with polished & pierced titanium lugs, sapphire caseback |
| Strap | Black nylon-strap with Velcro |
| Dial | Silvered regulator dial with big blue arrow minute-hand, red triangle hour-hand and yellow serpentine-hand for the seconds, signed" Louis Erard" |
| Movement | Automatic movement with a regulator allocation |
| Cal. | SW220-1 |
| Ref. | 85358TT13 |
| Case No. | 581276 |
| D= | 40mm |
| Year | 2023 |
| Case: | Brand new |
| Strap: | Brand new |
| Dial: | Mint condition |
| Movement: | Very good, all functions working properly |
| Amplitude (Dial on top/Lift angle 52): | Approx 330° |
| Accuracy (Dial on top): | Approx +4 sec/day |
| Box: | Yes |
| Papers: | Yes |
The collaboration between Louis Erard and Alain Silberstein started in 2019 when the first limited edition was launched. Based on the emblematic Le Régulateur, Louis Erard presented a bold take on the simple yet alluring regulator watch. Using the signature red-yellow-and-blue colour scheme and geometric shapes Alain Silberstein is known for, it turned out to be a very fun watch.
