The collaboration brings together Louis Erard’s ‘accessibility-first’ philosophy and the expertise of Wire Art Switzerland. Founded in Sainte-Croix by microelectronics engineers Sylvie Villa and Mark Miehlbradt, the latter company has repurposed obsolete chip-bonding machines to weave gold into horological art.

The Dial: Wired, Not Printed

The dial tells the whole story of this watch. The Wire Art begins with a black lacquered brass baseplate, laser-engraved with thousands of micro-cavities that are subsequently filled with gold through electroplating. From these anchor points, 2,320 individual threads of 24-carat gold, each just 25 microns thick, traverse the surface along digitally calculated paths, terminating in gold-lined cavities where the reprogrammed bonding machine micro-solders every contact point.

An additional 3,660 solder points form the chapter ring, hour markers, and edge highlights. The process runs at a rate of one wire every three seconds, with each completed dial requiring 45 minutes of high-precision binocular control. The resulting geometry is an isometric cube motif that shifts in depth and dimension depending entirely on the incident light. To complement this texture-heavy surface, Louis Erard has specified sword-shaped, rhodium-plated hands, with a satin-brushed upper surface and diamond-polished angles.

Movement: Elaborated Sellita Inside

The calibre powering the Fil d’Or is the Sellita SW261-1 – an automatic movement running at 28,800 vph (4 Hz). It has 31 jewels and measures 25.6mm in diameter and 5.6mm in height, delivering approximately 38 hours of power reserve. It operates at an elaborated grade, featuring careful decoration throughout. Notably, Louis Erard has also added a rewarding finishing detail for anyone who turns the watch over to view the movement through the transparent caseback: an openworked rotor carrying the black lacquered brand symbol.

Case: Polished and Proportionate

The 39mm polished stainless steel case measures 12.82mm in thickness, with a 45.9mm lug-to-lug length and a 20mm lug width, which keeps the proportions genuinely wearable.  The three-piece construction features a domed sapphire crystal with anti-reflective treatment on both sides, and a sapphire caseback engraved with ‘WIRE ART EDITION 1 of 99’. Louis Erard’s signature fir tree crown sits at 3 o’clock, and the case is water resistant to 50 m. A beige grained calf leather strap with tone-on-tone stitching and quick-release spring bars elegantly rounds off the package.

A Worthwhile Proposition

Priced at CHF 4,500 excluding tax, the Fil d’Or offers something genuinely rare: a Métiers d’Art dial technique that did not exist in watchmaking prior to 2025. Across the entire production run of 99 pieces, Wire Art wove a total of 229,680 gold threads, which speaks volumes about the level of craftsmanship invested in each individual timepiece. For collectors familiar with Louis Erard’s collaborative approach, the Fil d’Or stands as the brand’s most technically innovative execution of the Noirmont concept to date.