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Louis Erard Excellence Petite Seconde 39mm Unisex Watch Blue
Ref. 34248AA05.BVA134
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Stepping up in the same dial colour
The Excellence collection is where Louis Erard makes its case for the independent Swiss house against the category's bigger names, and the Petite Seconde sits at its centre. The 39mm case is calibrated to wear unisex without compromise in either direction, and midnight blue — a colour the dial treatment here calls "Bleu Nuit" — is the shade that prestige watchmaking returns to whenever it wants to remind you what it actually looks like. The dial is worth slowing down for. The circular satin finish sits against a matte ground, and the snailed sub-dial at six carries diamond-cut accents that catch differently from the rest of the surface. The rhodium-plated hands are a signature shape the house calls "fir tree" — narrow, tapered, legible — and the Arabic numerals are glossy against the matte, which gives the whole thing a quiet layering that flat photography does not quite convey. On the wrist the navy calf leather continues the palette without interruption, the tone-on-tone stitching integrated rather than decorative. The exhibition caseback makes sense here: the SW261-1 runs at 28,800 beats per hour inside a case just 12.82mm deep, and at 39mm that depth keeps the watch genuinely flat under a sleeve. The Sellita calibre is not the most storied movement available, but at this beat rate it is smooth to watch and honest about what it is.
- Reference
- 34248AA05.BVA134
- Brand
- Louis Erard
- Case size
- 39mm
- Case thickness
- 12.82mm
- Lug width
- 20mm
- Case material
- Stainless steel
- Case shape
- Round
- Dial
- Blue
- Crystal
- Sapphire
- Movement
- Automatic
- Calibre
- Sellita SW261-1
- Functions
- Small seconds
- Water resistance
- 50m
- Bracelet / strap
- Leather strap
- Strap colour
- Blue
- Clasp
- Buckle
- Retailer
- Goldsmiths
Additional specifications
- Power reserve
- 38 hours
- Origin
- Swiss made
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 (4,154), Stainless Steel Watches (2,848), Automatic Watches (1,518), Leather Strap Watches (940), Blue Dial Watches (795) and Dress Watches (474).
Best of 2 retailers
What the specifications mean
A mechanical watch for everyday wear.
Strengths
- 39mm suits most wrists
- Sapphire crystal, which resists scratching
- Sits in the lower half of Louis Erard's range as we list it
Worth knowing
- 50m suits rain and handwashing, not swimming
- 38-hour reserve means winding it after a day off
Louis Erard Excellence Petite Seconde alternatives
Watches from other brands at a similar price, style and size, so you can see what else your budget can buy.
| Specification | 34248AA05.BVA134 | R27086162 | 01 403 7776 4065-07 5 19 11 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | £2,500 | £2,450 | £2,440 |
| Case size | 39mm | 38mm | 38mm |
| Water resistance | 50m | 50m | 50m |
| Movement | Automatic | Automatic | Automatic |
| Strap | Leather strap | Ceramic bracelet | Leather strap |
| Power reserve | 38 hours | 80 hours | 120 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.
What size strap does it take?
20mm. Any strap of that width will fit, and on most modern watches quick-release bars make the swap a two-minute job with no tools.
Is it a men's or women's watch?
Listed as unisex, and at this size it suits any wrist that takes the dimensions.
Cheapest place to buy
Both Mappin & Webb and Goldsmiths list it at £2,500, so choose on delivery and warranty rather than price.
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