All doubts have been dispelled. Louis Erard can now confidently watch the sun rise on all its creations. This winter, the brand will be putting its 50,000 th watch on the market since its re-launching in 2003. What a feat! In less than five years, this mechanical watch manufacturer has moved out of the shadows and into the spotlight, where it is destined to remain. At the helm since the company's re-launch, Alain Spinedi savours its success: "Our initial hope has been transformed into a twofold confidence, confidence from our customers and confidence in our own abilities."

Since it was created in 1931, the brand has undergone every imaginable experience, including a long period of obscurity from the early 1990's. In 2003, won over by Alain Spinedi's project, a group of investors decided to rebuild the company. The results exceeded all expectation as production took off thanks to the public's warm reception. In 2007, volume will exceed 17,000 pieces, compared to fewer than 1,000 in 2003. Renewal has given place to recognition.

Unexplored territory

While the figures speak for themselves, they do not explain anything. Louis Erard owes its return to the forefront of Swiss watchmaking to a compelling idea that Alain Spinedi willingly shares: "It is my belief that beauty leads to a certain immortality and this invests it with a classical character. Beauty has no set price: it can be very expensive, admittedly, but it can also be accessible to anyone."

Louis Erard creations are perfect examples of this inspired idea, of this intention not to cede to the temptations of the ephemeral or extravagant. They are refined, attractively simple, quality timepieces. They meet the desires of a certain niche group that Alain Spinedi senses has remained untapped: that of fine watchmaking aficionados who do not want or are unable to pay stratospheric prices. Offered in a particularly attractive price range, the Le Noirmont watch manufacturer pleases and pacifies at the same time.

Does the strength of a brand reside solely in its capacity to target a particular type of consumer? No, it must also inspire confidence. In its Le Noirmont stronghold, Louis Erard builds its reputation on a moral principle that is rock-solid: humility. The watch manufacturer knows its limits and will not venture into uncharted territory. Combined with honesty, humility is without doubt one of the keys to its success. The brand has no intention of pursuing uniqueness or of claiming exclusivity. But might not this very pragmatic approach make Louis Erard unique?

At the service of elegance

Nestled in the heart of the Franches-Montagnes, the brand has evolved in a region with a harsh climate. Between the pastures, dry-stone walls and clumps of fir trees, one has the impression that time is an invitation to patience, and that the barrenness of the landscape does not lessen the natural beauty any more than simplicity in a Louis Erard watch undermines its elegance.

The region has never made up its mind between rurality and industrialisation. Fortunately perhaps, because the resultant atmosphere has enabled Louis Erard to find the right balance in its strategy: speaking to everyone in an uncomplicated, clear-cut language. The company makes relevant choices and stands by them. Equipped with a chronograph, moon phase or a second time zone function, its models are never overloaded with complications. The functions are not a sales argument, but, uniquely, an integral, aesthetic part of the whole.

A rite of passage

The keystone for Louis Erard remains, and will always remain, the movement. The company creates mechanical timepieces because they are alive and because they are a constant reminder that time cannot be recaptured or overtaken. A mechanical watch is not a machine. It is something we feel; it turns and stops. Before slipping it back on our wrist, we look at it, touch it, restart it. It thus imposes a rite of passage, bringing us back to the present moment, from which we set out again in its company.

Respect for the mechanical watch extends to each one of the brand's components and to each commitment the brand undertakes. "Everything we do is done painstakingly to ensure that our watches are quality products, in terms of both design and reliability. Our positioning does not require any undertaking on our part to make a splash, but to express honesty in the long term," explains Alain Spinedi.

Simplicity, elegance, respect. The visitor is very conscious of this triptych of values as he enters the premises of Louis Erard. Between these walls, contemporary elements delicately co-exist with the old and remind us that this living brand has a past. And most of all, there is a warm, natural welcome.

A meeting of minds

There are around twenty employees working at their desks and benches, all in their own way participating in the adventure. "Everyone contributes to meeting the challenge we set ourselves in 2003," enthuses Alain Spinedi. "Everything had to be re-built, not only the collections, but also a real identity. Louis Erard is like a start-up company, but one with a past. It is expanding and we have to follow this rhythm. It's a question of will. And that there certainly is, for there are definitely signs, both from within and without, that are creating a climate of confidence in which we will evolve from now on."

And where will this rhythm lead Louis Erard? While no-one can be sure, Alain Spinedi imagines a destination: "Louis Erard is a small, independent brand; it will survive and grow. What is important in our eyes, however, is not so much expanding production, but having the freedom to make choices and remaining faithful to our values."

In Le Noirmont, an entrepreneurial spirit co-exists with the spirit of time, something very dear to Louis Erard.

Click here to view the collections.