Louis Erard continues its prolific run of collaborations with the Le Régulateur Louis Erard x Worn & Wound, designed with the New York-based publication behind the value-focused Windup Watch Fair. Known for reinterpreting its popular regulator model through limited editions created with independent watchmakers and designers, Louis Erard now turns to a collaborator rooted in accessible watch culture, resulting in a design that blends layered dial architecture with the brand’s familiar 39 mm steel case and reputation for value.

Initial thoughts

If there’s one brand that has managed to build an identity around collaborations, it’s Louis Erard. Over the past few years the brand has released an astonishing range of limited edition series, usually built around the Le Régulateur platform, designed in collaboration with a diverse mix of watchmakers and designers. Notable releases include collaborations with Konstantin Chaykin and Vianney Halter, but these are just two among many.

Louis Erard’s latest is a collaboration with New York-based Worn & Wound, a watch blog with an e-commerce business. Worn & Wound is also the driving force behind Windup Watch Fair, a collector-focused watch fair that takes place in New York, San Fransisco, Dallas, and Chicago each year. Worn & Wound’s primary focus is value-oriented watches, so the collaboration with Louis Erard makes perfect sense.

Like most of the brand’s watches, Le Régulateur is a good value, managing to sneak in just under US$5,000. This is a segment of the market largely comprised of straightforward traditional designs intended for wide-reaching appeal; the Tudor Ranger is a good example. Small-volume watches with niche appeal typically cost much more, which is what makes Louis Erard’s offerings appealing to value-minded collectors looking for something more unique.

A layered regulator

The secret to Louis Erard’s success is that the brand keeps as much as possible the same from one edition to the next; the simple 39 mm steel case and Sellita-based movement are part of the formula. While collaborations occasionally extend to external components like the case and crown, by and large it’s the dial that gives each edition its distinct identity.

For the collaboration with Worn & Wound, the the familiar regulator layout has been elevated, quite literally. The central minute hand has been granted its own dial, that floats up above the lower plane of the dial that is home to open-worked disc-based registers for the hours and seconds, located at the top and bottom of the dial, respectively. The negative space around the outside is stamped with a fluted fan-shaped pattern that matches a similar texture on the raised minutes sub-dial.

The eye is naturally drawn to the raised platform in the center, which features Louis Erard’s fir tree-inspired minute hand. The raised central dial and the the open-worked discs for the hours and seconds give the dial a lot of depth, as evident by the numerous shadows visible in the images. The depth gives the watch an upmarket feel, which is reinforced by the pleasing shades of light and dark blue.

Like several previous Louis Erard collaborations, the dial is sterile, meaning it does not have any wordmarks or logos aside from the Swiss Made label that is still important for this market segment. Sterile dials have been around since dawn of watchmaking, but as the industry became more focused on brand building, logos and wordmarks became de rigour. Upscale independent brands like H. Moser & Cie. were among the first to challenge this norm, but sterile dials have been trickling down to more accessible design-oriented watches in recent years.

A pragmatic calibre

To achieve the desired value proposition, the Worn & Wound collaboration sticks to the script when it comes to the movement, which is a Sellita SW266-1 with a regulator module on top. This movement can trace its roots to the ETA 2824, which is among the most widely produced automatic movements produced in Switzerland. This means it’s simple, robust, and easily serviceable.

While the 38-hour power reserve is short by today’s standards and something like a La Joux-Perret G101 would be a welcome upgrade, the SW266 hardly detracts from the overall package and is a sensible choice given the priorities of the collaboration.

Key facts and price

Le Régulateur Louis Erard x Worn & Wound

Diameter: 39 mm
Height: 13.4 mm
Material: Steel
Crystal: Sapphire
Water resistance: 50 m

Movement: Sellita SW266-1 with regulator module
Features: Hours, minutes, and seconds
Frequency: 28,800 beats per hour (4 Hz)
Winding: Automatic
Power reserve: 38 hours

Strap: Leather strap with pin buckle

Limited edition: 99 pieces
Availability: From January 2026; first 50 available exclusively from the Windup Watch Shop
Price: US$4,990 excluding taxes

For more information, visit louiserard.com.