A retro spaceship for the wrist: Louis Erard and Vianney Halter unveil Futur Antérieur
Inspired by Antiqua, the new watch combines riveted portholes, blued steel hands and two automatic movements. Gold and Silver are limited to 178 pieces each, with a Taiwan suggested price of TWD229,800 per watch.
For anyone drawn to the gauges, portholes and rivets of old science-fiction films, the latest collaboration between Louis Erard and independent watchmaker Vianney Halter adds imagination to checking the time. Futur Antérieur comes in Gold and Silver, with two offset circular dials showing hours and minutes on one and seconds on the other. Each has its own automatic movement. Taiwan’s October 30 product release lists 178 pieces per version at a suggested TWD229,800 each, plus a globally limited duo set of 78 sets.
Two portholes continue the world of Antiqua
The design takes its starting point from Halter’s celebrated Antiqua. Raised circular bezels, small surrounding rivets and blued steel hands suggest an instrument from an earlier vision of the future. The dials sit diagonally across the front, with the collaborators’ names on opposing sides, inviting the eye to move between seconds and hours. For people who enjoy mechanical objects, part of the appeal is this deliberate visibility of structure. Two distinctive crowns carry that identity around the sides.
Futur Antérieur is French for the future perfect tense. In this collaboration, it can be read as turning a future imagined in the past into an object worn today. The partners began working together in 2020; this design moves closer to Antiqua’s visual language while introducing a newly designed Louis Erard stainless-steel case. Name and form reinforce one another, giving the retro appearance a specific creative background and inviting collectors familiar with earlier work to look again.
Two movements, a surprisingly slim profile
Despite its layered appearance, the case measures 8.85 mm thick and consists of 67 components. Two independent automatic movements sit side by side under their respective dials, one driving hours and minutes and the other seconds. Dividing the display into two mechanical units is its defining structural feature. Raised bezels and the comparatively slim side profile give the front and side different characters. An actual fitting can establish personal comfort; the official wrist photograph provides a styling reference.
The steel case combines circular brushing on the front, vertical brushing on the sides and polished edges. Grained dial surfaces, brushed outer rings and polished chamfers create further layers, with the blued hands providing a strong colour accent. Official close-ups show how rivets and bezels contribute to the three-dimensional composition. A solid caseback carries the two names and the limited-edition marking, placing the collaboration’s identity on the reverse as well.
The Silver model’s solid caseback bears the collaborators’ names and limited-edition marking.
Warm Gold or cool Silver for everyday style
Gold contrasts gold-coloured dials with black ostrich leather. Silver pairs silver-coloured dials with blue ostrich leather, echoing the blued hands. Both feature yellow-gilt 1N rivets, making the small gold-coloured details a shared thread across the steel case. The leather’s natural texture adds another material contrast. In the official Silver wrist photograph, dark knitwear offers a restrained, everyday styling direction.
Official wrist photograph of Futur Antérieur Silver with silver-coloured dials and a blue strap.
Each version is limited to 178 watches. The Gold and Silver duo set is limited to 78 sets worldwide, with a Taiwan suggested price of TWD459,600. The brand website currently offers a waiting list; local availability and purchasing arrangements can be checked with Taiwan’s brand retailers. Alongside the twin-movement construction, the watch’s appeal lies in its sense of play: a glance at the time becomes a glimpse of a little spacecraft assembled from metal, rivets and imagination.
