Same Gaze, Two Temperaments: Louis Erard x Konstantin Chaykin Give the Frog Two New Moods

Louis Erard and Konstantin Chaykin have revisited a creation that commands attention from across the hall: the Unfroggetable. Its wide eyes, diminutive crown and faintly amused expression form a signature so complete that the face was never redrawn. The evolution lies in temperament: two new colourways enrich the regulator while case, calibre and layout remain untouched. One, a turquoise dial,  bright, electric and slightly surreal, tempered by violet; the other, a brown dial, deep, nocturnal and brushed with gold. As Manuel Emch, Chief Executive Officer of Louis Erard, notes, once a character is instantly recognisable, colour alone is enough to transform its personality.

The mavens behind the frog’s creation 

Louis Erard has made regulators in Le Noirmont, in the Swiss Jura, since 1929. The region has long rewarded independent thinking, and the House honours it by preferring innovation to conformity and lasting quality to rapid growth. Its work with Alain Silberstein, Vianney Halter and Chaykin rests on one conviction: serious craft should reach a wider audience.

Chaykin is a fitting counterpart. Since 2003, he has built his own world within his own manufacture, and he now holds 94 patents, more than any other living watchmaker. He produced the first Russian tourbillons, served as president of the Academie Horlogere des Createurs Independants, where he remains the only Russian member, and took the Audacity Prize in 2018. His Martian Tourbillon of 2021 is the most expensive Russian watch ever sold. His models arrive as characters, from Clown to Joker to Harley Quinn, each conceived as a collectible. Since 2023, the two houses have revived legends together, and the frog, which draws on Slavic myth, Japanese symbolism and Jura watchmaking, is where their instincts converge most happily.

The two temperaments 

The regulator layout is what gives the creature its stare. Hours appear on a disc at 9 o'clock and seconds on another at 3, both acting as rotating pupils, while an arrow-shaped minute hand crosses the centre. The watch does not simply show the time; it looks back. At 6 o'clock, a small inscription reads Louis Erard x Konstantin Chaykin, an affection left in plain sight.

The case is in Grade 5 titanium, 40mm in diameter, built in three pieces that alternate satin planes with polished curves. It measures 46.50mm lug to lug and 12.45mm in thickness, with sapphire crystal treated on both sides. Water resistance is marked at 5 bar. The transparent caseback is engraved with "1 of 178"; through it, one sees the Sellita SW266-1, an élaboré grade automatic regulator of 11½ lines, 25.60mm in diameter and 5.60mm thick. It carries 31 jewels, beats at 28,800 vph and stores roughly 38 hours of power, wound by an openworked rotor bearing the black-lacquered Louis Erard symbol.

Unfrogettable Turquoise

The Unfrogettable Turquoise (Ref. 85340AA03.BVA192) sets a light grained base against deep blue-green counters, with a minutes ring divided between blue-green above and violet below. Rhodium-treated discs and hands stay crisp, and green SLN C5 luminescent accents supply the creature's night vision. The polished titanium crown follows the cool palette, and the strap adds violet stitching and lining.

Unfrogettable Brown

The Unfrogettable Brown (Ref. 85340AA04.BVA193) drops the temperature of the mood. A light brown grained base meets dark brown counters and a ring of dark brown and ochre, while 5N-treated discs, hands and a PVD-coated crown ensure a warm metallic flash. The same luminescent accents remain, and the stitching and lining stay black.

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Both watches sit on black Himeji Kurozan leather, sometimes called black diamond leather, from a historic Japanese tannery. It is hand-rubbed, naturally tanned and finished with Urushi lacquer in matte and glossy passages. The strap measures 20/18mm in width and 80/115 mm in length, closed by a titanium pin buckle with a satin "LE" plate. Quick-release spring bars allow easy changes.

The frog has always been a character before it was a watch, and this pair proves that a face can stay fixed while its mood moves. With only 178 of each, the choice between cool and warm belongs to those who act first

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