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.
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.