Worn & Wound
Louis Erard Introduces the Gravée Main, with a Fully Engraved Case
Of all the artisanal specialities in watchmaking, case engraving has to be among the most obscure and unheralded. I think there are a few reasons for this. One, the dial is where the action is on most watches, and applying a time consuming artistic craft on the case might be seen by some watchmakers as a waste of valuable time. Another factor is that to a large extent, we’ve all been trained to appreciate a particular type of case finishing. We see crisp transitions between brushed and polished surfaces, and that registers as being of a certain level of quality that we expect in a luxury watch. If those elements aren’t there, even if they’re substituted by something that might be visually striking, our reptile brains feel like there’s something missing. The latest in Louis Erard’s ongoing Métiers d’Art series, however, is a good opportunity to appreciate complex case engraving in a new way. The whole idea behind how Louis Erard approaches Métiers d’Art, and to a certain extent the brand’s focus more generally, is to make craft accessible. The new Gravée Main is perhaps their most ambitious attempt in this area to date. Virtually every steel surface (the case, bezel, lugs, crown, and buckle) is hand engraved. According to the brand, each watch takes upwards of 50 hours to engrave by hand, and only 99 will be made. Engraving is one of those things that really comes alive when you look at it closely and imagine that painstaking work that went into creat...
