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Louis Erard Le Régulateur Louis Erard X Vianney Halter II Worldwide Edition Limited Edition 43mm Mens Watch
Ref. 85246AA01.BVA180
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 £5,950 across 24 Louis Erard watches in stock.The original Louis Erard and Vianney Halter collaboration, launched in 2020, made an immediate impression on the independent watchmaking world — and this second generation answers that interest with a watch limited to 178 pieces worldwide. The regulator layout is Halter's signature provocation: by separating hours, minutes and seconds into distinct registers, the dial refuses the shorthand of a conventional time display and asks the wearer to read the time as three discrete facts. That is not an affectation; it is a direct expression of how a regulator movement actually works, and the SW266-1 supports it natively. What sets this apart from any other regulator is the surface. The silver dial layers a vertically brushed main plate against circular satin-brushed rings with diamond-polished chamfers — a monochrome exercise in controlled texture that shifts entirely with the angle of light. Twelve polished red-gilt 5N rivets flank the bezel, matched by twenty-four on the crown, pulling Halter's steampunk-inflected Antiqua language into every component you touch. At 10.95mm thick across a 43mm case, it wears considerably flatter than its presence suggests, and slips beneath a cuff where a watch of this character has no business fitting. The dark blue grained calfskin strap is not incidental — it is chosen to answer the electric blue of the blued-steel hands, and the quick-release spring bars mean swapping it takes seconds rather than a trip to a watchmaker.
- Reference
- 85246AA01.BVA180
- Brand
- Louis Erard
- Collection
- Le Régulateur
- Case size
- 43mm
- Case thickness
- 11mm
- Case material
- Stainless steel
- Case shape
- Round
- Dial
- Silver
- Crystal
- Sapphire
- Bezel
- Unidirectional rotating
- Movement
- Automatic
- Calibre
- Sellita SW266-1
- Functions
- Small seconds
- Water resistance
- 50m
- Bracelet / strap
- Leather strap
- Strap colour
- Blue
- Clasp
- Buckle
- Lume
- Luminous
- Retailer
- Goldsmiths
Additional specifications
- Lug-to-lug
- 49.60mm
- 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 (4,300), Stainless Steel Watches (2,846), Automatic Watches (1,403), Leather Strap Watches (928), Silver Dial Watches (644) and Limited Edition Watches (167).
Best of 2 retailers
What the specifications mean
A slim watch on leather, made for wearing with a shirt.
Strengths
- 49.6mm lug-to-lug keeps the 43mm case wearable
- Sapphire crystal, which resists scratching
- Luminous hands and markers for low light
- One of Louis Erard's more premium watches
Worth knowing
- 50m suits rain and handwashing, not swimming
- 43mm sits at the larger end
- 38-hour reserve means winding it after a day off
Louis Erard Le Régulateur Louis Erard alternatives
Watches from other brands at a similar price, style and size, so you can see what else your budget can buy.
| Specification | 85246AA01.BVA180 | 126102 | R32157152 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | £4,950 | £4,500 | £5,150 |
| Case size | 43mm | 43mm | 42mm |
| Water resistance | 50m | 50m | 50m |
| Movement | Automatic | Automatic | Automatic |
| Strap | Leather strap | Stainless steel bracelet | Ceramic bracelet |
| Power reserve | 38 hours | 48 hours | 80 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 £4,950, so choose on delivery and warranty rather than price.
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