Gravée Main marks a new milestone in Louis Erard’s Métiers d’Art series.
Hand engraving takes center stage in a limited series of 99 unique timepieces. From case to bezel and from lugs and crown to buckle, every metal element is fully hand-engraved and finished in a demanding process taking more than 50 hours. Hand engraving brings something machines can’t: uniqueness. Each cut, each curve is done by hand. No two are alike. Just one artist, one piece of steel. The Gravée Main is art.isanship on the wrist. Tradition, with bite. Craft, with character. Centuries-old craftsmanship, made wearable and collectible.
“What I love most about these collaborations is how a minimalist watch becomes something completely different at the artist’s hand. Starting from the clean lines of the Noirmont, baroque floral motifs take over the entire object. It’s steel, yet it feels alive. Gravée Main is all about contrast: lavish ornamentation clashing beautifully with pure design. This watch is unique, not just in what it shows, but in what it says. It speaks of time, art, legacy, as well as resilience, the duty to protect and transmit rare crafts. Artistic crafts should be worn, live, and passed on. That’s our mission.”
Manuel Emch, CEO, Louis Erard
It all begins with design: the artist sketches and refines the pattern, then transfers it freehand or with a stencil. Tools are chosen with care, different burins for different depths. The surface is first drypoint-etched to guide the engraving. Then comes the carving, line by line, millimeter by millimeter, adapting each movement to the shape and contours of the watch.
Once engraved, details, shading and textures are added by hand and eye. The case is cleaned and polished to bring out contrast and depth. Finally, quality control: visual balance is checked, structural integrity tested.
The minimalist architecture of Louis Erard becomes a canvas for centuries-old ornamentation, extending even to the dial. Inspired by baroque clocks, it pairs Roman numerals and pear-shaped rhodium-plated hands in a modern reinterpretation. Intentionally understated, the dial features a glossy black lacquer finish with anthracite and black transferred prints.
Each Gravée Main is engraved by hand in Ukraine by Maksym Shavlak, a watchmaker and artist known for transforming antique timepieces into modern hybrids. Using his tools, he gives new life to steel.
“Case engraving is more than decoration, it’s a way to make metal speak. What began as a series of design exchanges over a year ago became a full creative partnership. Gravée Main is the result. It all started with a meeting, a conversation, a spark of shared vision. I showed Louis Erard what I was doing. They saw something raw and real in my work. They didn’t just want to use engraving as a visual decoration, they wanted to rethink the entire watch around it. Give it space. Let the steel speak.”
Maksym Shavlak, Watchmaker & Artist
With Gravée Main, Louis Erard once again expands its Métiers d’Art series, following launches in Grand Feu enamel, wood marquetry and guilloché. Two new techniques now make their debut at Geneva Watch Days: Gravée Main (hand engraved) and Fil d’Or (gold wire inlay). In a world where such skills are often reserved for collectors of inaccessible timepieces, Louis Erard continues to build bridges between craft and wearability, tradition and modernity, rarity and reach.
Technical Specifications:
Louis Erard Gravée Main
Limited Edition of 99 pieces
Ref. 34237GA82.BVAG170
Price excl. tax: CHF 5’450.-
Movement: Automatic, Sellita SW261-1 calibre, 3 hands with small seconds at 6 o’clock, 11½’’’, Ø25.60 mm, height: 5.60 mm, 31 jewels, 28,800 VpH (4Hz), élaboré grade movement, special openworked oscillating weight with black lacquered Louis Erard symbol, approx. 38 hours of power reserve
Functions: HMS. Central hour and minute hands, second hand at 6 o’clock
Case: Polished stainless steel entirely hand engraved, Ø42 mm, lug width: 22 mm, lug to lug: 49.90 mm, thickness: 12.25 mm, 3 pieces, domed sapphire crystal with anti-reflective treatment on both sides, movement visible through the transparent back caseback, water resistant up to a pressure of 5 bars (50 m/165 ft), hand-engraved fluted crown.
Dial: Black polished lacquer with shiny anthracite and black transfers
Hands: Rhodium-plated pear-shaped hands
Strap: Black grained calf leather strap with tone-on-tone stitching, black lining grained calf leather, polished stainless steel pin buckle, ergot bars for quick strap change. Dimensions: 22/20mm width, 80/115 mm length
For more information please visit Louis Erard