Hands-On With La Petite Seconde Louis Horror By Louis Erard × Seconde/Seconde/
I didn’t grow up celebrating Halloween each year. Honestly, for this article, I had to look up when Halloween is actually celebrated. But the celebration — originally dedicated to remembering the dead, including the saints (hallows) — has grown a lot in recent years. I noticed this during my time in Spain, and now it has also reached the Netherlands. I’m not sure how big it is in Switzerland or France, but Louis Erard and seconde/seconde/ thought it was a good opportunity to make another joke. Your attention, please, for La Petite Seconde Louis Horror!
Last November, both brands presented us with their first joke, Le Régulateur Louis Error. It was based on a pun that many watch lovers had probably already thought of before the watch came out. Nevertheless, it was well executed, and although it was a bit large at 42mm, all 178 pieces quickly sold out. So here Louis Erard and seconde/seconde/ are again, teaming up for another one of their little jokes. But this year, they used the Excellence Petite Seconde model as a base, allowing them to make a watch with a 39mm size. And, instead of Error, it now says Horror. It’s being announced today, October 28th, and will be available to order on October 31st.
A spooky joke
Let’s go over the basics first. As Dave already mentioned in his review of the Excellence Petite Seconde, the model’s 39mm case wears very well on the wrist. The thick black leather strap that the Louis Horror came on was still a bit stiff, so I quickly put it on one of my own supple leather straps. After doing so, the rounded case with dramatically sloping lugs felt right at home on my 17cm (6.7″) wrist. The opaline silver dial doesn’t look too big because of the brushed sector encircling the black lacquered hour markers. The deep, heavily grooved sub-seconds dial is quite big and reaches from 6 o’clock to the “trunks” of the black fir-tree minute and hour hands.
And that sub-dial is exactly where the fun takes place. Romaric André, the genius behind seconde/seconde, took off the standard serious-looking seconds hand and placed a pixelated, lumed ghost inside the sub-dial. It’s a perfect addition considering the theme of the watch — horror! The ghost just spins there endlessly, making you get completely lost in time, just like that 10-second sub-dial on the Zenith Defy Skyline. This time, though, it doesn’t simply look like a joke — it’s actually meant to be one!
The horror theme
But I’m guessing that the original thought before the ghost came along was the “horror” pun. That’s why we see the Louis Erard brand name there between 10 and 2 o’clock, but with a twist. This time, following the Error version’s punny lead, “Erard” has been replaced by the word “Horror” and is printed as if it is written in blood. I think that both the black-and-white ghost and the red blood font match the rest of the dial layout very well. The blackened, razor-sharp fir-tree hands also look a bit mysterious to me, and it’s almost as if they were specifically chosen for this horror watch. The same goes for the fir-tree pattern on the crown. Although it was already present on the original Petite Seconde, it fits the horror theme to a tee. So I guess this version was just destined to be made at some point!
Through the case back, you can see the automatic Sellita SW261-1 movement and its rotor. It would’ve been nice to see a little pumpkin there or another little horror joke. But I guess for a watch just under €2,000, that might be a bit much to ask for. I already think it’s very cool that you get such a uniquely modified and limited watch for that price. I won’t go over the details of the Petite Seconde here again. Please refer to Dave’s review for those.
Final words
What I will tell you is that these joke watches by Louis Erard × seconde/seconde/ just work. I think it’s great when you can laugh about your own shortcomings or quirks. And Louis Erard does try to make seriously nice watches for a reasonable price, but every once in a while, it’s good to have fun. The brand does so by engaging in some great collaborations, for example, with Alain Silberstein and Massena Lab. But this collaboration with seconde/seconde/ takes the humor up a notch, and I love it. I’m just not sure how many more puns on the Louis Erard name are going to work in the future. It is also possible to take a joke too far. For now, though, this one still feels legit and honest.
So I wish you all lots of fun trick-or-treating while wearing your best costumes, watching horror movies, or eating pumpkin soup (oh, and candy). And don’t forget to get one of those 178 pieces of the Louis Erard × seconde/seconde/ La Petite Seconde Louis Horror! It’ll be available on October 31st at 15:00 CET and will set you back €1,975. Please take a look at the Louis Erard website for more information.
Let me know in the comments whether you can still laugh at these word jokes, and please give me some costume inspiration down there as well!
You can also find and follow me on Instagram: @fliptheparrot
