In an upcoming interview that ISOCHRONO conducted with Manuel Emch, Chairman of Louis Erard, he mentions that collaborations will form a backbone of the brand for the future. The latest release from Louis Erard brings back a fan favourite – Alain Silberstein. This time round, Silberstein is given carte blanche, and with this, a Triptique is born – a trilogy of signature watches from Louis Erard that have been given an Alain Silberstein twist. This also marks one of the first times that Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) will be associated with a watch collection – this will aid in verifying authenticity, whilst containing all of the collection’s technical specifications as well as a personalised message that the owner can customise.
Le Tryptique Louis Erard x Alain Silberstein brings together three watches that display signature watchmaking from Louis Erard with the playful touch of Alain Silberstein – La Semaine Louis Erard x Alain Silberstein, Le Regulateur Louis Erard x Alain Silberstein II and Le Chrono Monopoussoir Louis Erard x Alain Silberstein.
All three feature a case made from Grade 2 and Grade 5 titanium and appear quite modern in their design. The brancards that run along the sides of the case form the lugs of the watch, whilst the contrast in finishes appears to be through the use of the two different grades of titanium – Grade 5 for the brancards that are polished, and Grade 2 for the middle case that is microblasted. This architectural case is accentuated in its geometry by a conical crown with the Louis Erard logo set into it, and is 100m water resistant. The strap is easily changed through quick-release spring bars, and is made of nylon with a hook and loop design for easy adjustment, and fastened with what Louis Erard calls a “quick-fit closure”. Giving great comfort with its articulation and strap fastening system, the double nylon strap also ensures that moisture is not retained by the strap. Clearly a product of form-follows-function design, the exterior of the watch forms a strong basis of the trilogy collection.
La Semaine Louis Erard x Alain Silberstein is essentially a day-date watch, that on the surface, seems no-nonsense, apart from its bright colour palette, and the use of geometry in the design of its dial and hands – typical of Silberstein designs. Looking at the day display, however, it has been replaced by stylised faces of varying emotions – one can look at it as Monday having the saddest face, and Sunday having the happiest face of the suite of emoticons. This emphasises the playfulness of the watch – colours to brighten up your day, and a face to match your mood.
Le Regulateur Louis Erard x Alain Silberstein II is a new version of the regulator watch that was first unveiled in mid-2020. The time-telling functions of the watch are again separated into a large blue arrow hand for the minutes, a red isosceles triangle for the hours, and a yellow serpentine hand for the seconds indicator. This one is definitely more of a modern expression of the regulator, with the case holding much of the responsibility for its slightly futuristic look.
The last model in the Tryptique is Le Chrono Monopoussoir Louis Erard x Alain Silberstein. Using the Louis Erard layout for the monopusher chronograph, the 30 minute subdial is situated at 12 o’clock, and features the signature hand shapes for the minute and seconds hands, whilst the hour hand is a new design for Alain Silberstein – a circle with an isosceles triangle to indicate the hours. The crown appears extended, as it houses the pusher for the chronograph – one pusher to control the start, stop and reset functions of the chronograph.
All of the pieces are limited to 178 pieces – 178 representing “i”, “chi” and “ba” or “Stronger Together” in Chinese – a fitting number given that this is a strong collaboration between designer and watchmaking brand. The watches are either available individually (CHF 3500 for the La Semaine and Le Regulateur models, and CHF 4500 for the Le Chrono Monopoussoir model), or as a complete set of three priced at CHF 11,111.
Le Tryptique Louis Erard x Alain Silberstein was really created to make us watch enthusiasts smile. The seriousness of classical watchmaking can, at times, be a bit overbearing, and it is certainly refreshing to see bold use of colours, geometry and even smiley faces to brighten the mood from time to time.