Quick specs Louis Erard Noirmont Marqueterie Special Edition ELA
Price: to be auctioned, estimate is CHF 4,000 – 8,000 | Price realised: CHF 16,380
Size: 42 mm
Reference: 34237AA59 – limited to one piece
The Louis Erard Excellence Marqueterie Special Edition ELA is a one-off piece to be auctioned by Christie’s on 11 November 2024. ELA is the European Leukodystrophies Association, a charity organization that fights leukodystrophies in children. Several renewed watch brands contribute by providing a unique watch to be auctioned to support this good cause. The list is here: 2024 watch collection for ELA page.
This unique Louis Erard is designed with the traditional art of marquetry, bringing an ancient craft to modern wristwear. It takes a unique approach to dial design, featuring a meticulous, hand-assembled wooden checkerboard pattern, created by Swiss artisan Bastien Chevalier.
Marqueterie dial
This Marqueterie dial is a miniature work of art, crafted from over 70 elements of precisely cut wood. It has natural walnut burl wood at its center and tulip tree wood, stained in three shades of green, forming captivating geometric cubes. Once cut, the tiny pieces are meticulously sorted and deposited with the tip of a scalpel under a microscope. Then they are fixed on the first mount and the assembly is then glued on the appropriate side.
The back is prepared so that it can be attached to the dial’s metal base, and then the outward face is delicately taken again to be sanded to the correct thickness. Louis Erard used this technique already on one of their regular models, in blue colors: the Louis Erard Excellence Marqueterie. Limited to 99 pieces. For this unique piece they used a green and yellow color scheme.
The Louis Erard Noirmont Marqueterie Special Edition ELA has a power reserve of 41 hours
Inside the Louis Erard Noirmont Marqueterie Special Edition ELA is an automatic Sellita caliber SW261-1. Which is visible through the sapphire crystal case back. The movement is part of Sellita’s caliber SW200-family and supplies a power reserve of 41 hours. This movement normally has small seconds at the 6 o’clock position and a date window at 3 o’clock but those have been left out here. We have no clue why.
The watch comes on a brown grained calf leather strap and the price estimate is about 4 to 8k in Swiss francs.
| Technical data and specifications of the Louis Erard Noirmont Marqueterie Special Edition ELA |
| Reference number: 34237AA59 – limited to one piece |
| Movement: Sellita caliber SW261-1 | Automatic | Diameter: 25.6 mm (11½ lignes) | Thickness: 5.6 mm | Frequency: 28’800 vph (4 Hz) | Jewels: 31 | Stop-second device, quick date setting | Hours, minutes, small seconds (not here), date (not here) | Power reserve: 41 hours |
| Case and dial: 42 mm | Stainless steel | Sapphire crystal | Geometric marquetry dial handmade by Bastien Chevalier, with walnut burl wood and tulip tree wood | Blued hands | Signature fir tree crown | Sapphire crystal case back | Water resistance: 5 ATM / 5 bar / 50 meters / 165 feet |
| Strap: Brown grained calf leather strap |
| Price Louis Erard Noirmont Marqueterie Special Edition ELA: to be auctioned, estimate is CHF 4,000 – 8,000 | Price realised: CHF 16,380 |
| Website: www.louiserard.com |