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Louis Erard Marqueterie 42mm Limited Edition Mens Watch
Ref. 34237AA58.BVA108
Sits in Louis Erard’s upper tier here — more premium than three quarters of the Louis Erard watches we list, which start at £1,975.
Price range £1,975 to £17,500 across 31 Louis Erard watches in stock.Bastien Chevalier cuts and assembles more than 70 slivers of wood — grey-stained willow burl and tulip tree in three gradations of blue — into a dial that reads as a three-dimensional cube pattern, a trompe-l'œil illusion executed entirely in natural material at a scale that pushes marquetry into territory most craftsmen would decline. The edition runs to exactly 99 pieces, each dial unique by the nature of the process. The decision to omit hour markers entirely is correct: anything printed on this surface would compete with it, and the fir tree-shaped hands give the eye enough orientation without interrupting what the dial is doing. On the wrist at 42mm it has the presence the artwork requires, and the domed sapphire — coated on both faces — lets the wood read cleanly across different light rather than fighting reflections. The blue calfskin with quick-release bars means the strap can be changed without tools, practical for a watch this considered about its own appearance. The exhibition caseback is worth a look: the rotor is openworked and finished with a black lacquered logo, and the tinted blue crystal over it ties the case to the dial in a way that feels deliberate rather than incidental.
- Reference
- 34237AA58.BVA108
- Brand
- Louis Erard
- Case size
- 42mm
- Case thickness
- 12.25mm
- Case material
- Stainless steel
- Case shape
- Round
- Dial
- Blue
- Crystal
- Sapphire
- Movement
- Automatic
- Calibre
- Sellita SW261-1
- Functions
- Small seconds, Skeleton dial
- Water resistance
- 50m
- Bracelet / strap
- Leather strap
- Strap colour
- Blue
- Clasp
- Deployant clasp
- Retailer
- Mappin & Webb
Additional specifications
- Lug-to-lug
- 49.60mm
- Power reserve
- 38 hours
Learn more about Louis Erard
Louis Erard was born in La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1893, into a town then producing a large share of the world's watches. He worked in its workshops, founded a watchmaking school in 1929, and set up a casing and assembly business with André Perret the same year. The first watches under his own name followed in 1931.
Assembly was the trade at the time: components came from independent artisans and the assembler built, adjusted and finished the watch. By 1937 Erard employed more than sixty people and was selling internationally.
The quartz crisis did its usual damage. The company was sold in 1991 and production moved to Le Noirmont in the Jura, then sold again in 2003 to a group led by Alain Spinedi, who refocused it on mechanical watches at prices that undercut everyone doing similar work.
The regulator became the signature — the dial layout that separates hours, minutes and seconds onto their own axes, borrowed from precision reference clocks, and rarely seen at this price.
What has made the brand's recent reputation is collaboration: limited editions with independent watchmakers whose own work is unobtainable, among them Vianney Halter, Konstantin Chaykin and Alain Silberstein, on Sellita and Valjoux movements.
- 1929
- Founds a watchmaking school and a casing business with André Perret.
- 1931
- The first watches carry the Louis Erard name.
- 1991
- Sold, with production moving to Le Noirmont.
- 2003
- Relaunched under Alain Spinedi around mechanical watches.
- 2020
- Collaborations with independent watchmakers define the brand.
Also in 6 collections
This watch appears in Back in Stock (3,714), Stainless Steel Watches (2,629), Automatic Watches (1,627), Leather Strap Watches (857), Blue Dial Watches (730) and Skeleton Watches (260).
Best of 2 retailers
What the specifications mean
A mechanical watch for everyday wear.
Strengths
- Sapphire crystal, which resists scratching
- One of Louis Erard's more premium watches
Worth knowing
- 50m suits rain and handwashing, not swimming
- 38-hour reserve means winding it after a day off
Louis Erard Marqueterie alternatives
Watches from other brands at a similar price, style and size, so you can see what else your budget can buy.
| Specification | 34237AA58.BVA108 | 128677 | FC-718NWM4H6 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | £4,500 | £4,500 | £3,995 |
| Case size | 42mm | 42mm | 42mm |
| Water resistance | 50m | 50m | 50m |
| Movement | Automatic | Automatic | Automatic |
| Strap | Leather strap | Stainless steel bracelet | Leather strap |
| Power reserve | 38 hours | 50 hours | 38 hours |
| This watch | Closely matched | Closely matched |
Your new watch
Frequently asked questions, and things you should know about this watch
Can I swim with it?
Showering yes, swimming no. 50m covers splashes and brief immersion, but a swimming stroke generates well above the pressure that figure describes.
Water resistance explainedWill the glass scratch?
Unlikely. Sapphire is second only to diamond in hardness and shrugs off everyday marking.
Sapphire, mineral and acrylic comparedDoes it need a battery?
No. It is automatic — the motion of your wrist winds it, and there is no cell to replace.
Quartz, automatic and solar comparedHow long does it run for when it's not worn?
About 38 hours fully wound — so it will usually stop if you leave it off overnight.
Will it fit my wrist?
Lug-to-lug is 49.60mm, which suits wrists from roughly 16.5cm (6½ inches) upward.
Lug-to-lug decides fit more than case diameter does.
How to size a watch to your wristIs it a men's or women's watch?
Listed as men's.
Cheapest place to buy
Both Mappin & Webb and Goldsmiths list it at £4,500, so choose on delivery and warranty rather than price.
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