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.
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