INTRODUCING: Le Diptyque Louis Erard x Alain Silberstein collab is colourful, playful and fun
Fergus NashIt’s fair to say that the watchmaking industry is often pretty uptight as a whole. Companies like Swatch and Hublot try to inject some fun into the hobby, but what if you want something with luxury build quality that won’t cost tens of thousands? Louis Erard’s manifesto of bringing artwork into mechanical watchmaking for an attainable cost is something that few other brands manage to pull off, yet they sell out releases over and over. Alain Silberstein’s playful pop art style is a match made in heaven for the Swiss company, as proven by this new dual-reference collaboration.
If you’re someone who gets annoyed by having to say “2022” out loud, then these watches probably aren’t for you. Le Diptyque is an ode to the number two and the concept of duality, although with such cheeky design it’s hard to tell what’s a “serious” concept and that is just the brand poking fun at collectors. Serious or not, the Louis Erard x Alain Silberstein watches do tend to sell out instantly, so they must be doing something right.
The dial
There’s nothing shockingly new about either of the dials, with the basis of Le Régulateur being established in their original 2019 collaboration and La Semaine first appearing with a black background in 2021’s Le Triptyque collection. But, for those unfamiliar with Alain Silberstein’s work, it’s well worth diving back into his history. The former interior architect founded his own watch brand in the late 1980s at peak devastation after the quartz crisis, and those colourful wacky hands have followed his designs ever since.
Le Régulateur Louis Erard x Alain Silberstein II Blanc splits the time across three elements of the dial, with an hours subdial at 12 o’clock bearing a red triangular hand, a huge central blue arrow as the minutes hand, and a yellow squiggly running seconds hand at 6 o’clock. The white base allows all of those colours to pop in their pure primary glory, evoking childlike scribbles on a blank sheet of paper.
La Semaine Louis Erard x Alain Silberstein Blanche appears to be slightly more simple, yet actually brings in two complications. The date window at 6 o’clock has nothing special about it, but the oval opening above it shows a different emotive face for each day of the week. The red triangular hour hand has been attached to a circle and moved to the centre pinion along with the squiggly seconds hand, forming a chaotic scramble of shapes as the hands move around each other.
The case
The microblasted titanium case is built for versatility at 40mm in diameter, 47mm lug-to-lug, and 11.6mm thick, but it’s certainly not run-of-the-mill in its design in the slightest. The movement and dial are held within a pure circle, which is then suspended within a tubular frame. With pure comfort and minimalist Bauhaus style in mind, the grey nylon strap is adjustable with hook-and-loop ends that also makes this watch safe for the swimming pool given its 100m water resistance.
The movement
Both watches use automatic Sellita movements to keep the prices down whilst retaining a great reputation and the Swiss Made status, with La Semaine using an SW220-1 for the day/date complication and Le Régulateur using an SW266-1. They each have a power reserve of 38 hours and a beat rate of 28,800 vibrations per hour.
Le Diptyque Louis Erard x Alain Silberstein pricing and availability:
The watches of Le Diptyque Louis Erard x Alain Silberstein are available as limited editions of 178 pieces each at a price of 4,000 CHF. Should you want to get both watches, 56 of them will be presented in a special diptych box set for 7,777 CHF.
| Case Material | Stainless Steel |
| Case Dimensions | 40mm x 47mm x 11.6mm |
| Water-Resistance | 100m |
| Dial | White |
| Straps | Steel bracelet |
| Movement | SW220-1 / SW266-1 |
| Power Reserve | 38 hours |
| Complications | Hours, minutes, seconds, day, date |
| Price | 4,000 CHF each / 7,777 CHF for box set |