The Micromechanical Embroidery Dial of the Fil d’Or Louis Erard x Wire Art

There’s no stopping Manuel Emch’s relentless drive to democratise watchmaking by producing highly original content and métiers d’art dials, thanks to collaborations with designers, artists, studios and artisans for Louis Erard. The latest collaboration is a surprising marriage of traditional embroidery executed with a machine designed to bond microcircuits reprogrammed by Wire Art, Switzerland, to produce gold embroidery at a micromechanical level.

Sylvie Villa and Mark Miehlbradt began their careers as microtechnology and microelectronic engineers but crossed over into artistic ventures when they founded Wire Art in 2017. The idea was to give a second life to obsolete bonding machines by using them for creative projects. The motif chosen for the dial is a cube, a shape that has appeared in Louis Erard’s artistic timepieces, such as the handmade marquetry dial created by Bastien Chevalier and the Op Art hand-guilloché model.

The dial is woven with pure 24k gold thread with strands just 25 microns thick – three times thinner than a human hair. Using a bonding machine rewired for artistic endeavours, the gold thread is woven in layer after layer to produce a 3D chevron motif. Reacting to the light, the dial reveals unexpected facets and an entirely illusional depth.

Technically speaking, the process starts with a black lacquered baseplate that is laser-engraved with thousands of micro cavities and then filled with gold using electroplating. Imitating the technique of embroidery and relying on a 2D digital design, each of the 2,320 gold threads starts at a laser-etched anchor point and crosses the dial in a precisely calculated path terminating in a gold-lined cavity. Each 24k gold wire is pulled, placed and soldered individually at a rate of one wire every three seconds.

The signature sword-shaped hands have been upgraded and are now decorated with a satin-brushed surface and diamond-polished angles. The polished 39mm stainless steel model forms part of the Noirmont Métiers d’Art family. It has a thickness of 12.82mm and features a domed sapphire crystal over the dial and a transparent crystal caseback.

The movement is a Sellita SW266-1 élaboré-grade automatic with an openworked rotor and a modest 38-hour power reserve. The watch is paired with a beige, grained calfskin strap with tone-on-tone stitching, a black calfskin lining and a polished steel pin buckle. Fitted with quick-release spring bars, the strap can be switched in a jiffy.

A limited edition of 99 pieces, the watch retails for CHF 4,500 (excl. tax). More information at louiserard.com.