One of the biggest success stories in watches over the last few years has to be Louis Erard. Under the leadership of Manuel Emch, the brand has gone from a middling maker of respectable watches to one of the coolest kids on the horological block. The secret sauce in this story is, without a doubt, the power of partnerships. Louis Erard has taken its regulators and classic creations and created a never-ending stream of highly desirable collabs, working with legends like Alain Silberstein and Konstantin Chaykin to create compelling watches that combine cool-factor with accessibility, an approach that has been something of a winning combination for the brand.

If there’s one arrow in Louis Erard’s quiver that is under-utilised, though, it’s the sports watch. Well, that’s just changed thanks to the major refresh of the brand’s sporty chronograph offering, the 2300 Chronograph Sport.

Louis Erard has just rebooted the 2300 with a trio of nostalgic, limited edition chronographs that are sure to win plenty of fans. But before we dig into the details of this trio of watches, a quick word about the name 2300, because it’s wuite a cute origin story. The numbers are a nod to the brands home in La Chaux de Fonds, in particular its zip code. It’s a little local touch, perfectly in line with Louis Erard’s big personality and spirit of value and creativity.

So, what about the watches? Well, each one of the three designs is limited to 99 pieces, powered by the perennial favourite 7750 and housed in a 44mm titanium case and a black ceramic bezel. They’re also all priced at the easy-to-remember CHF 3333. It’s the dials, though, that really separate these fun chronographs from the competition. Collectively, the watches are all about legibility and outstanding displays — and they certainly deliver on that promise, using a dial layout that amplifies the vertical alignment with contrasting registers, while the nine o’clock subdial is colour-matched with the dial.

First up, the black dial. It’s telling that this watch, featuring rainbow details, is the most subdued of the bunch. The subdials are in contrasting silver, and the 70s-inspired minute track features a pleasingly graduated rainbow minute track. This is followed up with a deep khaki dial chock full of vivid orange highlights, notably on the minutes track (which is alternated with a lighter shade of green) and the first five minutes of the minutes register. So, if you regularly need to track things that take five or fewer minutes, this one could be for you. The final instalment in this limited series is the blue option, which follows an ostensibly similar design to the khaki but is a more subtle execution. The soft, pale lemon of the chronograph hands is a particularly pleasing choice. As you can see, each of the chronographs bears a ‘One of 99’ inscription towards the bottom of the dial, which adds an air of exclusivity but does impact the overall balance of the dial. Each watch also comes on a matching FKM rubber strap.

it’s great to see Louis Erard show off this sporty face to the world. These three watches are all solid value propositions, but for me the most exciting aspect of these revived designs is the possibility of the platform. Bring on the collab chronos!

Tech Specs: Louis Erard 2300 Chronograph Sport

Movement: ETA Valjoux 7750, automatic, 48 hours of power reserve
Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds, day, date, chronograph
Case: Grade 5 titanium, 44 x 15mm, water-resistant to 50M
Dial: Black, khaki or blue
Strap: 22/18mm FKM rubber matching the dial
Price and Availability: Each version is limited to 99 pieces, CHF 3333 ex. taxes

Find out more at Louis Erard.