While the Swiss watch industry has felt the full force of the financial crisis, with exports down 25% during the first nine months of the year, Montres Louis Erard S.A. is counting on a relative decline of only 5% for fiscal 2009. Without resorting to any triumphalism – this year’s Christmas sales are crucial for realizing this figure – the company can nevertheless congratulate itself on not having had to lay off any employees since the crisis began, not even on a temporary basis. In fact, it has even taken on new staff!

A winning strategy

Based in Le Noirmont in the Swiss Jura, the independent watchmaker produces mechanical watches exclusively, classically-inspired and at very accessible prices (starting at € 450). Its strategy has always been quite clear: to produce elegant, unpretentious timepieces, neither flashy nor overstated, but with real horological added value thanks to the combination of small, useful complications and meticulous design and finishing. As CEO Alain Spinedi explains: “Since restructuring in 2003, we have practised rigorous cost-management so we can offer a quality product at the lowest possible price. Suffice it to say that this strategy was often perceived as going against the current during that euphoric period in the watch sector that ended in the autumn of 2008. On the positive side, this crisis will at least result in a return to healthier values. Consumers, more knowledgeable than ever, are looking for products offering real value at a fair price. They are no longer content paying for flashy exteriors and aggressive marketing, as was the case before. And so much the better!”

New models true to the brand’s values

This autumn, Louis Erard is offering two new models in its Collection 1931: the Moon Phase and the GMT Large Date, housed in large (44 mm) or more traditionally-sized (40 mm) cases of steel or rose gold, with silvered or anthracite dials. Both models are impressive examples of authentic, unpretentious luxury. For Louis Erard, the essence of luxury is to be found in designs unfettered by fashion, and thus stamped with a certain classicism. Luxury for this watch company is not synonymous with high cost, but with good taste, savoir-faire and an uncompromising approach to choice and quality. In view of this year’s results, this is clearly a philosophy shared by more and more fine watchmaking enthusiasts!

Two years after the introduction of its first ladies’ watch collection named Emotion, Louis Erard is presenting four new models that are sure to win women’s hearts. These exclusively mechanical Swiss made Louis Erard watches, inspired by fine watchmaking principles, are available at particularly affordable prices.

Because no desire should go unsatisfied
A patent leather strap teamed with black diamonds; an offset heart on a mother-of-pearl background; plays on metal-accented structures; or moon phases beneath a diamond-studded sky for incorrigible dreamers… This autumn, Louis Erard has decided to offer every woman the perfect match for her wrist. While the different variations will appeal to women with very different personalities, they share two common denominators: strict compliance with the principles of fine watchmaking; and affordable pricing.

A high-end watchmaking spirit at a reasonable cost
Very few Swiss watchmakers offer mechanical timepieces at less than € 400.- (as in the Héritage men’s collection), or versions set with 152 Top Wesselton diamonds totalling 1.4 carats for less than € 4’000.-, such as the brand-new 1931 Moon Phase Diamonds model.

Emotion collection
Emotion is expressed here in many different ways. With its metal bracelet, diamond hour-markers and original large date display (ref. 91 601 AA 50), this model will win the hearts of active women radiating classical elegance and who love to stand out from the crowd. They will find themselves reflected in this subtle and authentic range. Meanwhile, intrepid beauties will doubtless go for the Asymétrique Diamonds (ref. 92 602 SE 01) with its boldly off-centred hand-setting. Adorned with 64 diamonds and teamed with a trendy patent leather strap and an all-black dial and case, the Emotion Black Diamonds (ref. 92 601 NS 02) will prove an ideal companion for urban women firmly in step with the times.

1931 collection
Refined, inspired, graceful: the 1931 Moon Phase Diamonds (ref. 44 204 SE 11) is sure to thrill ultra-feminine souls in search of absolute beauty. While the 1931 Collection embodies the very spirit of the Louis Erard brand, this Haute Horlogerie argument is endowed with a significant number of assets. Mother-of-pearl and satin evoke gentleness; the moon phases and river of diamonds conjure up dreams; while the useful small complications enhance daily living. The quintessence of beauty dedicated to modern women.

Emotion Diamonds

Movement mechanical self-winding, ETA 2895-2
Functions hours, minutes, seconds, date
Case stainless steel, 36 mm
glare-proofed sapphire crystal
crown set with cabochon-cut onyx
water-resistant to 50 metres

Bezel with or without diamond setting of 64 diamonds,
0.71 ct, Top Wesselton (F-G), clarity grade VS-SI, Æ 1.4 mm

Dial white (01), black (02) or brown (03)
with or without diamond setting of 9 full-cut diamonds, 0.09 ct
silvered hands
large date window at 12 o’clock
small seconds at 6 o’clock

Wristband stainless steel bracelet or strap in satin or
white leather, folding clasp

Emotion Black Diamonds

Movement mechanical self-winding, ETA 2895-2
Functions hours, minutes, seconds, date
Case sand-blasted black PVD, 36 mm
glare-proofed sapphire crystal
crown set with a cabochon-cut onyx
water-resistant to 50 metres

Bezel set with 64 full-cut black diamonds, 0.71 ct
Dial black
silvered hands and hour-markers
large date window at 12 o’clock
small seconds at 6 o’clock

Wristband patent leather, satin or black leather strap with
folding clasp in black PVD-treated steel

Emotion Asymétrique Diamonds

Movement mechanical self-winding, ETA 2895-2
Functions hours, minutes, seconds, date
Case stainless steel, 36 mm
glare-proofed sapphire crystal
crown set with a cabochon-cut onyx
water-resistant to 50 metres

Bezel set with 64 diamonds, 0.71 ct, Top Wesselton (F-G),
clarity grade VS-SI, Æ 1.4 mm
Dial mother-of-pearl
12 painted black Roman numerals
off-centered hour and minute hands
small seconds at 6 o’clock
Wristband stainless steel bracelet or strap in satin or white
leather, folding clasp

1931 Moon Phase Diamonds
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Movement mechanical self-winding ETA 2824-2 and
Dubois Dépraz 9000 module
Functions hours, minutes, seconds, day, date, month and moon phase
Case stainless steel, 40 mm
glare-proofed sapphire crystal
transparent case-back
water-resistant to 50 metres

Bezel with or without diamond setting of 152 diamonds,
1.4 cts, Top Wesselton, VS-SI
Dial grey or white mother-of-pearl
8 full-cut diamonds, 0.1 ct
day and month at 12 o’clock
moon phase at 6 o’clock
Wristband satin or leather strap with folding clasp in stainless steel

Regulators first appeared at the end of the 17th century, in the field of chronometry. These symbols of precision were used by watchmakers to verify the rate of watches. Four centuries later, Louis Erard pays tribute to this highly-respected instrument with the launching of its 1931 Regulator – Power Reserve. A blend of ancestral tradition and modernity, this watch from the alchemist of Le Noirmont is a veritable master stroke. Using one of the original pillars of horology, Louis Erard has combined its precision with an ultra-innovative design.

Beating at the heart of this exclusive model is the brand new module made by Soprod, a complication that Louis Erard has fitted as a world premiere onto one of its original movements. The 1931 Regulator, one of the brand’s most emblematic models, has been totally reinvented in an Haute Horlogerie spirit: a beautiful and sophisticated movement in a resolutely high-tech case. The traditional hour hand has been replaced by a disc system, while the contemporary guilloché dial reveals a truly original power reserve display. The meticulous finishing, satin-brushed or black sand-blasted PVD, makes a lively contrast with the rubber strap.

With Louis Erard, high-tech design and cutting-edge horology have become synonymous with accessibility.
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Movement
Hand-winding mechanical, ETA 7001 RE 9 calibre with Regulator – Power Reserve complication developed jointly by Louis Erard & Soprod SA

Functions
Hours, minutes, seconds and power reserve

Case
Satin-finished/polished steel or black sand-blasted PVD, 42mm
Anti-reflective sapphire crystal, transparent back
Water-resistant to 50 metres

Dial
Silvered or black
Window with dragging hours at 12 o’clock, minutes at centre, small seconds at 6 o’clock, power reserve at 9 o’clock

Strap
Rubber with satin-finished steel or black PVD folding clasp