Weird Watch Wednesday: The Upside Down Watch

 

The first ‘Upside Down’ watch on the wrist of its proud new owner

This week’s watch is the super cool first creation of newly independent master watch maker Ludovic Ballouard. Simply called the ‘Upside Down’ watch, few details were known about this exceptional timepiece during the construction phase other than that it would feature a never-before-seen complication. Conceived and completed in an exceptionally short time-frame, the relatively simplistic looking first completed model belies the level of complexity involved in making a timepiece of this calibre.

Get ready to see something you’ve never seen before!

Where Did He Come From?
Don’t feel bad if you are not be familiar with Ludovic’s name, I’d certainly only heard it in passing up until a few months ago. However, fortunately thanks to the keen insight of well-regarded industry veteran Ian Skellern, whose superb photography you will often see on this site, this man’s exceptional skills as a new and upcoming independent watchmaker were soon brought to my attention.

Regardless of your familiarity with Ludovic you will definitely be well aware of his former employer, high-end watch manufacturer F.P. Journe, where he spent the last seven years honing his skills on some of their most highly complicated models, including the Sonnerie Souveraine.

It’s difficult really to think of a better training ground for an independent watchmaker with a highly creative mind! The funny thing is though that according to Ian, when Ludovic left Journe he just had a few ideas and a few sketches, nothing more.

 

The ‘Upside Down’ complication in all its glory!

The Upside Down Watch

That’s what makes the story of the first Upside Down watch just that little more interesting. Around the same time Ludovic started developing his plans into a workable model,

a friend based in Paris mentioned this new independent watch maker to a wealthy watch collector. Knowing little more than that this new piece would feature a unique, never before seen complication, he immediately ordered the first piece.

So the challenge was set. It was time to take this simple sketch into a full scale completed model and let’s just say the final product certainly lives up to Ludovic’s outstanding reputation.

Looking at the dial the first thing you will notice that is that all the numbers are upside down, except one, hence the name. The model is called ‘Upside down’ because only the correct hour is the right side up. When the minute hand reaches 12 o’clock, the old hour number instantaneously flips upside down and the new hour simultaneously flips right-side-up. It doesn’t sound anywhere near as good when you write it, so it’s easier to just show you (and a big thanks again to Ian Skellern for this great video!)

As you can see in the video Ludovic has chosen to exhibit the complication on the back of the movement, as opposed to putting it out of sight under the dial as would be the generally accepted approach. You will notice that each hour has its own Maltese cross that is rotated at the appropriate time by a large diameter wheel and so the decision to place the complication at the rear of the piece affords the viewer an obstructed view of this visual delight. However, as Ian told me, it was no easy feat to achieve this as it meant arranging the movement architecture so that 12 vertical pinions could traverse the movement and link each hour to its Maltese cross.

Initial delivery will consist of 12 limited edition timepieces and as an added novelty the hours numbers themselves are used to denote which number in the series the watch is. For example, if the piece is number 3/12 it will have the 3 in a different colour to the other numbers to indicate this.

When you consider that not only is this Ludovic’s first timepiece, a timepiece that features a never-before-seen complication no less, but also the fact that it was completed in less than twelve months you really start to grasp the exceptional level of skill this man possesses. Even more exciting is the fact that’s he just starting out. Just imagine what he’ll come up with next!

Fortunately we have been given the fantastic privilege of being able to interview Ludovic, which we will be publishing on International Wristwatches in the next few weeks. So stay tuned to find out not only what he has to say about the incredible Upside Down watch but also for hints on what other ideas he may have up his sleeve!

And a special thank you again to Ian Skellern for all his help with the information on this piece.

thewatchlounge.com