LUDOVIC BALLOUARD

Ludovic Ballouard is complicated, witty and eccentric, one could say just like his watches.

Born in 1971 in Brittany, France to a Breton father and a Dutch mother, Ludovic Ballouard grew up close to the sea with a special interest in assembling and flying radio-controlled model aircrafts. Given his apparent abilities in assembling and dissembling these planes composed of infinitely small pieces, a teacher of his suggested he attend the school of watchmaking and so began a journey of passion.. However due to the fact that openings to work as a watchmaker in Brittany were scarce he began his career as a technician for airplane control panels where he remained for six years.

Fortunately, his passion for watchmaking was one he could not ignore and so his heart led him to work in one of the major hubs for watchmaking Geneva, Switzerland. His work started with three years in the after-sale services department in Franck Muller.

Following his departure from Franck Muller, one afternoon Ludovic telephoned a friend who was working at F.P. Journe and as fate would have it a highly sought-after position as a watchmaker had become vacant that very morning. He was initially only going to work for six months but ended up staying for seven years. In his last three years with F.P. Journe Ludovic was responsible for assembling the outstanding and extremely complicated Sonnerie Souveraine, his work with these marvels proved that Ludovic Ballouard was and is a highly talented watchmaker.

Ludovic Ballouard’s greatest dream had always been to create his own watches as he had a head filled with ideas for different complications. Even though the financial crisis was in full force around the globe, Ludovic decided to follow his dream. This journey started in May 2009. With collectors waiting impatiently and suppliers eager to work, Ludovic created his first timepiece, the Upside Down, which was born in December 2009.

Ludovic Ballouard had the idea of creating a highly complicated and eccentric timepiece with the utmost simplicity in its presentation of time. Ludovic wanted to remind people that the most important time is the present and the Upside Down perfectly embodied that. The way time is presented in the Upside Down should remind you how important it is to live in the moment. The past and the future time is, literally, presented upside down to tell you that there should be no regrets about the past which you cannot change and no qualms for the future which you don’t know anything about. Driven by his original idea and philosophy Ludovic Ballouard went on to create his next model, the Half Time, which was presented in January of 2012. The Half Time is even more complicated, but it maintains the original philosophy by having a dial that presents time simply. The numeral that gives you the time is whole at the position of 12 o’clock while the rest of the numerals are cut in half, perpetually reminding you that the most important time is the present. Ludovic Ballouard had the choice of including the minutes in the middle of the dial however he opted for making the movement even more complicated by integrating the retrograde minutes, staying true to his desire of continuously adding complications to his timepieces. For both Upside Down and Half Time, Ludovic Ballouard focused on finding a method so that the back of his timepieces truly displayed all the aspects of the movement to the naked eye. His idea is that the dial should bring a smile to your face while the movement will fascinate you, as you can see the whole complication set moving through the sapphire crystal display back. His reputation as a highly talented watchmaker was rewarded as Harry Winston entrusted him with the development of their OPUS XIII, which he executed for Basel World 2013. Today Ludovic Ballouard works from his workshop in the countryside of Geneva in Switzerland, a country which is now his own. His imagination continues to flourish leaving collectors and watch enthusiasts around the world patiently awaiting his next model

The Upside Down was well received by critics and collectors alike and it was awarded the “Special Prize of the Jury” by the prestigious magazine “Montres Passion” during the “Watch of the Year” event in 2010.

For both Upside Down and Half Time, Ludovic Ballouard focused on finding a method so that the back of his timepieces truly displayed all the aspects of the movement to the naked eye.

His reputation as a highly talented watchmaker was rewarded as Harry Winston entrusted him with the development of their OPUS XIII, which he executed for Basel World 2013.

LUDOVIC BALLOUARD

UPSIDE DOWN

HALF TIME