The New Petite Seconde Metropolis Louis Erard x The Horophile

It’s surprising how Louis Erard has ascended from being a virtually unknown Swiss brand to becoming a well-respected, desirable producer of watches with highly original content. The latest collaboration pairs Louis Erard with the Swiss-based watch influencer known as The Horophile (aka Amr Sindi). Using Louis Erard’s Petite Seconde as a base, the result is a trilogy of Art Deco-inspired dials designed to become a sub-collection within the Petite Seconde family.

The turnaround at Louis Erard can be attributed to industry veteran Manuel Emch’s capable leadership. His vision of fostering partnerships with leading watchmakers, designers, design studios and practitioners of métiers d’art has resulted in a portfolio of original pieces that can be acquired at affordable prices. Amr Sindi, better known by his Instagram handle @TheHorophile, is a marketing consultant to watchmakers, an independent producer of limited editions and a friend of Emch for the last 15 years.

The classic 39mm stainless steel case of the Petite Seconde was chosen for the “collection within the collection”. Although the three watches are limited to 59 pieces each (177 plus 1 for The Horophile), the idea is to create a base upon which other special editions can be built. The mood is New York Art Deco with a contemporary twist, a style Emch and Sindi refer to as Neo Deco. Interestingly, Louis Erard was founded in 1929 while the Art Deco movement was in full swing.

Available with three dial colours – slate-grey, salmon and tobacco – the watch transmits a convincing Art Deco vibe. To recreate the sleek design of this period, extensive work was conducted to select the right typography to reinterpret numerals. Printed on a brushed chapter ring, the double-traced numerals evoke the New York Art Deco mood to perfection. Moving towards the centre of the watch, a series of hypnotic 3D concentric grooves add depth to the dial and catch the light. The classic small seconds counter of the Petite Seconde is also reinterpreted here with strict minimalism – no indices, and a single dot at noon.

The “Empire” hands underscore the Art Deco spirit of the watch with great flair and are inspired by the Empire State Building in New York. Evoking the tiered (stepped) architecture of the 1931 Art Deco skyscraper and landmark, the hands culminate in a pinnacle. With no logo or inscriptions, the dial is free to exude its pure Neo-Deco soul.

Beneath the sapphire caseback is the automatic elaboré grade Sellita SW261-1 with an openworked rotor and black lacquered LE logo. As an offspring of the tried-and-tested SW-200 family (Sellita’s version of the ETA-2824), the movement has a frequency of 28,800vph/4Hz, a power reserve of 38 hours when fully wound and features a stop-seconds mechanism.

The three Petite Seconde Empire models are paired with grained calfskin straps that can be easily swapped thanks to the functional catch-spring bars. The Petite Seconde Empire is limited to 59 pieces in each colour and retail for CHF 2,300.

For more information, please consult louiserard.com.