Louis Erard’s Olivier Mosset Le Regulateur is Ultra Minimalist
Louis Erard, a brand well-known for its affordable collaborations with notable figures across different industries, has just dropped a wristwatch designed by a Swiss contemporary artist known for his abstract style. A variant of the brand’s classic regulator model, Le Regulateur Louis Erard x Oliver Mosset tells the time, but in an extremely minimalist, almost redacted manner, with just three hands rotating on a dial that evokes outer space. Initial Thoughts The design is clearly the work of an abstract artist; time-telling instrument it is not. In fact, it is not especially recognisable as a watch, particularly for someone unfamiliar with a regulator-style dial. The striking design will be polarising, particularly since it comes at the expense of function. It is, however, appealing in its own peculiar way and more broadly reflects the wide-ranging aesthetic adopted by Louis Erard thanks to Manuel Emch, now the brand’s creative chief and himself a collector of contemporary art. The only downside of the watch is the chunky case, which is shared by all Le Regulateur models. It’s thicker and bulkier than such a minimalist watch should be, but necessarily so due to the no-frills movement inside. But that also means the Oliver Mosset regulator is an affordable CHF3,750, as is typical for the brand. It’s a value proposition for a little bit of contemporary on the wrist. Not a watch That the watch was conceived as an artwork, rather than a timepiece is indicated by the l...